Red Painted Night
by Demetria912
Summary: AU. Aang is the prince of all the nations because his father has taken over the world. Toph was taken as a slave for Aang after her family got stripped of it's social status. He thinks she's amazing. She thinks he's a jerk. How will this work? TA SS MZ KH
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yeah... new story. I actually came up with it last year when I had a really bad fever. I didn't fall asleep until seven in the morning because of it. And during all those hours, what do I come up with? This. Now let's just hope I can fill in the blanks I can't remember. **

Red Painted Night

"The world is a cold, cruel place," thought Toph to herself as she felt her way around the metal box she was now trapped inside of. The metal felt cold and smooth as she ran her small hands around edges. It wasn't very big, it could fit two, maybe three people in it, maximum. She was thankful she was the only one in there.

Toph had just been kidnapped from what was left of her home to be a slave to the new ruler of all the lands. She had heard her captors come earlier that night, but didn't honestly think they would want her as their slave. There wasn't much she was good at. She was okay at simple housework, like minimum cleaning, but that's all she was really good for.

The thought struck her that they might have wanted her for her looks, but she quickly brushed the thought away. She could only imagine what she looked like at that point and only one thing came to mind, a total wreck. She was still sweaty from when she had been scared half to death when the people came for her and she could feel her hair sticking up in some parts. She didn't bother to fix her hair. She didn't care what she looked like.

A bump in the road brought her back to reality. She rubbed the back of her head where it had met with the metal wall during the bump. She wondered how long she had been in this box. It had to have been over an hour. She had originally figured that she was being taken to the palace where King Sako lived, but when she had gone there with her parents, it never took this long. She figured her captors must be making more than just one stop.

Toph started thinking about the palace, wondering what it would be like, living as a slave. Silently she prayed they wouldn't ask her to do anything that would be physically damaging. Though she knew she wouldn't do anything too horribly agonizing, the kingdom still lived by customs that women didn't do manual labor. Even though it was the king she would be serving, and he could do whatever he wanted, she hoped he would still follow the traditional customs.

The box came to a screeching halt and she heard voices on the other side of the metal wall. The lock on the door began to rattle and she heard it open. She could feel moonlight steaming onto her face.

"Get up," she was commanded. "It's time to meet your new master." She stood up in the metal box and started to walk toward the fresh air. She didn't notice when she got the end of the box and she tripped and fell onto the ground, which happened to be a few feet lower than she had originally assumed.

"What's the matter with you girl? You act like your blind or something," said someone in a low, grunt voice as she got up off the ground.

"That's because I _am_ blind," she said calmly. She turned her head toward the voice so he could see that her eyes had film over them.

She heard him gasp.

* * *

Prince Aang sat in the palace kitchen watching the new slave cook try to learn where everything was in the enormous room. He knew his presence was making the new slave extremely nervous, and he knew it would be wise to leave, but he couldn't help himself. Watching the new slaves pretend to know the castle like the back of their hand.

"Ha!" thought Aang to himself, "I've been living here my whole life and I still get lost at times."

He heard the large kitchen doors open and a slave come running in. He turned to face her. She looked as pale as a ghost. He knew she just had a run-in with King Sako, his father.

"Prince, your father demands that you make an appearance in the throne room immediately. He says he has something for you," the slave told him.

"Alright, I'll be right there," Aang said as he stood up.

He walked with the maid to the throne room where his father was waiting for him. It took them a while to get there, but when they finally got there, his father was waiting impatiently for them on his enormous throne that was placed in the middle of the room. He looked to the side of him to see the new slave gawk in surprise. This was expected, because of the room's size and beauty. The ceiling was three stories from the floor and the whole place was made of black bricks. There was a row of pillars on each side of the room that went all the way to the ceiling, and each pillar had jewels in them decoratively. There was a huge window behind the thrones that had stained glass windows. They were a beautiful sight. The thrones did not fail to be magnificent as well. His father's throne was the biggest and had a radiant red ruby in the back of it. His mother's throne, which had remained vacant for two years due to her death, was smaller and instead of a ruby, it had a brilliant blue sapphire in it.

Prince Aang went up to his throne and sat done in it. It was hard and hurt his back, but it had a significant importance, so he didn't care.

"Son," King Sako started off, "as you know, our kingdom, the Air Kingdom, has been expanding, taking over those useless bending regions."

Aang rolled his eyes at his father. King Sako loved to gloat about his victories, despite the fact that Aang didn't totally agree on taking over all the other kingdoms.

"Anyway, I have a surprise for you Aang." Sako finished off. Aang perked up at this. He liked surprises.

The King motioned for the guards to open the enormous doors. They did, and Aang saw two guards drag in something between them. He squinted, and he could tell it was a little girl. His eyes widened in surprise as the guards dropped the tiny girl in front of him. She raven black hair and when she looked up at him, her fogged over emerald eyes seemed to pierce right through him.

"Son, this is your new personal slave."

**A/N: First chapter done. Second coming out I don't know when. Comments are welcome. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	2. Chapter 2

Toph looked up to where her new master was at. She tapped her foot lightly on the ground to pick up the vibrations around her. She scrunched up her nose at the guy sitting in front of her. He was her master? Pff… she could tell already that he was a wimp.

She drummed her rough fingers lightly against the cold stone that was the floor, picking up the subtle vibrations. She smirked as King Sako gasped when he saw her eyes.

"What is this!" the king yelled. "You give my son, your prince, a blind slave!" The king was clearly outraged by this. He stood up from his throne and walked over to where Toph was kneeling. He reached over and grabbed onto her hair, pulling her up off the floor, taking her sight away. She was, for once, truly scarred, but she dared not let it show on her face.

King Sako threw Toph a little ways away from him, and she landed on the cold, hard stone with a loud _thud_. The impact of the landing caused the wind to be knocked out of her, making her cough. Aang gasped at this and rose from his throne slightly, like he wanted to go help her.

"Take this girl to the dungeon. She is of no use to us," the king stated evenly. Fear washed over Toph at the thought of the dungeon, but once again, she kept her face straight. Guards came up on either side of her and grabbed her arms, and started dragging her away when a voice behind her spoke up.

"No!" Aang cried out, his arm reaching an arm out towards her slightly. Everyone in the room except Toph turned towards the young prince.

King Sako walked up to him and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't worry son, I'll get you a new personal slave."

"No, I want her to stay," Aang said in a firm voice. Toph's head came back a little at his tone of voice. Maybe he wasn't as weak as she had originally thought.

"Are you sure son?" King Sako asked him, looking at him strangely.

Aang shrunk back a bit, not being used to standing up to his father. "Y-yes," he stuttered. Never mind.

"Very well," proclaimed the king. He turned towards the guards and Toph. "Take this girl to the slave quarters."

* * *

Toph's rough and calloused feet were being dragged across the even rougher stone floor. The two guards were walking faster than she could, so she ended up being dragged. The forgein place she was in was eerily silent, except for a few squeeks from rats and other rodents. 

She couldn't help but feel that this predicament she was currently in was better than her life before hand. Being locked up in her house because her parents thought she was fragile was horrible. Everyday she had wished that she could get out of her house and explore the world. When her parents had been stripped of their social status, she had thought that her wish had finally come true. And, in a way, it had. She was no longer trapped in her home with her over protecting parents. Next time she had a wish, she vowed to word it better.

The silence around her was becoming heavy, making her feel uneasy. She smirked at the idea of doing what she always did when she felt like this. Make them feel worse.

"So… that boy's our prince?" Toph commented with an undertone of mockery, wondering what kind of reaction she would get from them.

"Quiet. It would do you good to show him some respect. He just saved you from spending the rest of your life in the dungeon with rats," the guard to her left said firmly. He did not apperciate hearing ridicule about the royal family.

"Humph, he's a wimp. He couldn't even stand up to his own father," Toph stated dryly, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.

"Quiet!" the other guard yelled at her, tightening his grip on her arm. She winced slightly at the pain.

The deeper they went into the castle, the worst the castle got. Toph could tell through her vibrations that the hallways were getting narrower and the stone was harder.

She heard a door open in front of her, and the guards pushed her into the room, the door slamming shut behind them as they left. She stumbled in, trying to regain her footing. Once she did so, she got her first whift of the room she now lived in. It smelled moldy and ashy, as if something had been burnt a lot. There weren't that many people in the room, many of them washing clothes. One girl in the far corner looked up at her before jumping up and running over.

"Hello there. You must be new here. My names Katara," the girl said in a sweet voice.

"I'm Toph," she told the girl.

"Come with me, I'll show you around," Katara said, taking Toph's hand and pulling her off in another direction.

Toph already didn't like this girl. She was too sweet. How could someone who had no hope of seeing outside the walls she was trapped in be so cheery?

The tour of the room was short. It consisted of telling her about the different work stations for cleaning and all the people Katara could tell her about. Even though she wasn't really listening, Toph did pick up a few people's name and what they did around here. Jin and Song were wash girls and Katara's brother, Sokka, was one of the cook's assitances.

Afterwards, Katara took Toph over to where she worked, which happened to be a corner in the back and started telling her about where she had come from and how she came to be there. Finally she got to the present.

"And I've been a wash girl ever since. I do all of the prince's laundry," Katara said, her voice dripping with admiration at the mention of the prince.

Despite Toph's apathy for what Katara was saying, this caught her attention. She sat down on the hard stone and turned her head up towards Katara. "You like him, don't you?" she said with a smirk gracing her lips.

Katara's face flushed immediately. "What? Me? No, no, no. I couldn't…I mean… it wouldn't…"

Toph leaned back on her elbows and raised an eyebrow at her. The knowing look on Toph's face made Katara loose her defences. Her head dropped down. "Yes. I do like him. But he's the prince and I'm a wash girl. It would never work out. I don't even think he knows I'm alive," she told Toph sighing. "It's just that, he's so kind and handsome an…"

"Alright, alright, I get the picture. You don't have to go all ga-ga on me," Toph said, waving her hand at Katara.

Katara took a deep breathe. "Anyways, enough about me. How about you? Do you know what you're going to be doing around here?"

Toph sat up a bit and hunched over her crossed legs. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be princey's personal slave or something." Toph waved her hand like it was no big deal.

Apperently, it was to Katara.

Katara dropped the load of laundry she was holding onto the floor, causing a dust storm to fill the air and both girls to start coughing. "What?!" she screamed, still choking on the dust floating around.

Toph stopped coughing and shrugged. It wasn't like she asked for the position. "How come you get to serve him? I've been trying to impress him by doing his laundry perfectly and now you come in and will get to impress him by doing everything else for him! This isn't fair!" Katara sobbed.

"Calm down Sugar Queen. It's not like I asked for this job," Toph stated blandly, not even pretending to care.

"Sugar Queen?" Katara asked her though her sobs.

"Yeah, you," Toph said simply standing up, not bothering to wipe off the dust. Katara scowled and bent down to pick up the clothes she dropped earlier. Just then, a tinkling noise filled the air, a noise everyone in the room hadn't heard for a long time.

Someone came up behind Toph a put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump slightly, regardless of the fact that her vibrations should have picked the person up. The voice that spoke up next sent shivers down Toph's spine.

"The prince requires your assistance. Now."

**A/N: As always, comments are welcome.**

**Thanks for reading. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is the beginning of why this story is rated T. That's all I'm saying.**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

The guard leading Toph from the slave chambers had abandoned her once they reached the top of the stairs. For the second time that day, Toph was scared. Well, not so much scared, more like nervous. She didn't know where she was. This castle was very large and she didn't know where she was supposed to be right now.

Toph wandered around aimlessly, trying to find her way to where ever she was supposed to go. All the rooms she entered seemed the same to her and they all lead back to each other.

Toph scratched the side of her head as she contemplated over what she should do. But she was at a loss. _'Maybe I should just go back to the chambers… only I don't know where that is…'_

So Toph sat down right were she was and started biting at something in her nails. _'Oh well…'_

**

* * *

**

Aang's leg was shaking in nervousness for Toph. He knew that his father was in a bad mood and who knew what would happen if she didn't show up soon…

* * *

Toph was lying on the ground in the palace, just thinking, when another slave screamed and dropped whatever she was holding.

"What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be with the king! Why aren't you there?" the slave hollered while running up to Toph.

"Gee, I didn't know I was so important that everyone knew about where I'm supposed to be when," she said, flashing the other slave a smug grin.

"This is no laughing matter!" the slave yelled. Toph didn't even cringe. "We have to go now."

"Say what?" Toph asked as she was yanked up by the arm. The slave started dragging Toph away without another word.

* * *

The slave leading Toph threw her into the room she had been taken into originally. The king stared down at her with an angry look in his eye. Next to him, Aang was shaking on the inside, worried about what would happen to Toph.

"Where have you been?! We rang for you to get here a half hour ago!" King Sako's voice echoed through the room as he yelled at Toph.

"I couldn't find my way around your enormous castle," Toph stated blandly. Aang's eyes widened at her boldness. He was impressed with this girl. Aang looked back at his father. His face was turning red from anger.

"How dare you speak to me like that! And after you were late too! That's worth three lashes!" the King yelled.

Aang's eyes widened. "Father no! It's her first day! She doesn't know!" he pleaded.

King Sako signaled the guards to grab hold of Toph before turning toward his son. "Aang, these slaves need to learn who's in charge now. If you give them breaks, they'll never learn."

A tear rolled down Aang's cheek as the guards shoved Toph to the ground and one pulled out a whip. He wanted to beg his father not to do this, but knew there was no hope. Once his father made up his mind, there was no changing it.

The whip made a sickly noise at it hit her back and Toph cringed at the pain. She was fighting to hold back tears. Twice more the whip made contact with her skin. By now she was digging her nails into the ground and, because of her earth bending, ripping up the ground. She wanted to scream out in agony, but she refused to give them that satisfactory.

"Take her back down to the slave chambers. And be sure to tell the others that if any of them try to heal her, they will receive the same punishment," the King told the guards.

Toph was once again picked up by the shoulders and dragged back downstairs.

* * *

The guards shoved Toph into the chambers and she landed on the hard stone with a loud thud. "You could be a little gentler!" she hollered at them. They ignored her and addressed the rest of the slaves in the room.

"If anyone helps this girl heal, you shall receive the same punishment!" they hollered through the room, eyeing the water benders carefully. They left the room, slamming the door behind them.

Toph tried to get up off the ground, but the pain in her back made her crumple back onto the ground. She felt Katara's vibrations along with someone else's run up to her.

"Who are you?" Toph asked, not turning her head toward who she was talking to.

"Oh no, I think she might have some sort of memory loss!" Katara yelled worriedly.

Toph swatted her head at Katara. "Not you Sugar Queen! You!" Toph pointed her finger at the other girl.

"My name's Suki," the other girl said quietly, as if intimidated by Toph's confidence.

Each girl went onto either side of Toph and hoisted her to her feet. They started to lead her somewhere, but she yanked her arms away. "I can walk on my own," she sneered.

Each step she took seemed to weaken her, but she continued on, trying to not show how much pain she was in. She painfully walked over to a corner of the room and collapsed. She reached behind herself and touched her hand to her back. Blood coated her hand almost immediately. She left out a sigh and leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, steadily drifting off to sleep.

* * *

It was the dead of night when Aang started putting on his robe. He walked over to the secret compartment under his window ledge and pulled out a bottle. He headed to the door, ignoring his shoes, knowing he would be able to walk quieter without them. He may be slightly defying his father's orders by doing this, but he wanted to help that girl that had gotten whipped today. And he was going to, no matter what.

* * *

Aang quietly opened the door to the slave chambers, not wanting to wake anyone up. He snuck in without making a sound and looked around for the girl in the dim light. He saw her in the back corner of the room with her head leaned back up against the wall sleeping.

He tip-toed over to her and knelt in front of her. Her facial features told him that she was in lots of pain. He brushed the bangs from her face to get a better look at it.

Her face was porcelain white and very pretty. His hand, still on her face, slid down to her cheek, and he rubbed his thumb against her cheekbone gently, wiping away her tears.

He drew his hand away and was about to set the bottle down when she woke up.

"Huh?" she mumbled. "What's going on?"

"Shhh… it's just me," Aang whispered softly.

"Who's me?" she asked him.

"Aang," he told her. At the mention of who he was, she turned her head away from him. She knew his name and who he was, even though he didn't say he was the prince.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked her. His question was met with silence. He continued anyway. "I'm sorry about today. I tried to stop him. He doesn't always listen to me." She still didn't say anything. He sighed. "You can be angry at me. I would be too."

He set the bottle down next to her. "Here, put this on your back. It's doesn't make it heal any faster, but it'll make the pain go away." With that, he stood up and headed out the door, leaving Toph alone again.

* * *

**A/N: Comments are welcome. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks goes out to all those who commented. **

**Enjoy.

* * *

**The next morning, when Toph woke up, she knocked the bottle a little bit, making it move a little. She smiled a little at the memory of last night. She grabbed the bottle and stood up slowly. She tapped her foot on the ground, searching for anyone in the room. There was only one person, a guy she didn't know. She slowly walked up to him.

"Will you put this on my back?" she asked, not bothering with any kind of small talk.

He looked up at her. "Are you sure? I could be totally perverted and take advantage of you," he said with a laugh.

"You try that and I'll kick your ass," Toph stated blandly. She shoved the bottle into the guy's hands. He chuckled softly as he opened the bottle and poured some of the liquid onto his hands. Toph un-tucked her shirt and the guy slid his hands onto her back.

Toph winced a little as his hands grazed over her back, but soon the pain melted away as the liquid started to work on her wounds. Her let out the breath she was holding in by sighing deeply.

The guy behind Toph putting the stuff on her back smirked as he heard her sigh. He had, of course, heard what happened to her. Every slave in the castle knew. Toph was almost like a mini celebrity to them.

"So, you got a name?" she asked as he withdrew his hands from the back of her shirt.

He was stunned at her question, but recovered quickly. "My name is Sokka, and I was the prince of the Southern Water Tribe," he boasted proudly.

Toph turned around to face him and raised an eyebrow at him. "Really now?" she asked smugly, knowing he was lying.

He nodded again, hoping to impress her. She sat down on the chair next to him. "I can tell you're lying," she said while putting her hands behind her head and leaning back in the chair.

Sokka lowered his head. Busted. "Okay, fine. I wasn't technically the prince. But my dad was the chief general for our tribe."

Toph laughed to herself. "Don't sweat it. Happens to the best of us," she told him as she stood up. He looked at her quizzically. Was she talking about him lying? Or something else?

Before he had the chance to ask, Toph started leaving. "Where are you going?" he asked. He wanted to spend time with her.

"I got to go talk to someone, well, kind of," she told him, not breaking her pace. Sokka watched as the door slammed shut behind her and he was left to contemplate what she had said.

* * *

Toph walked through the castle, this time though, she knew exactly where she was going. She hadn't even been there a whole day yet and she was already starting to recognize certain parts of the castle. Each part of the castle had a different theme to it, usually having something to do with what kind of people would see it. The main hallway, the one she was currently in, was decked out to show the importance of the castle. There were large statues of former kings and queens and the walls had pictures carved into them.

The pictures carved into the walls had everything to do with the Air Nomads from the past. The big thing was their god Vayu, god of the wind. The pictures told the stories of Vayu, and how he came to be.

The story was actually very interesting if someone ever took the time to stand in the middle of the hallway and stare up and the ceiling full of carvings and decipherer it, but Toph had to be somewhere at that moment.

Toph kept on walking through the castle, taking little time to examine all the art work in the different parts of the castle.

When Toph reached her destination, she opened the heavy wooden door without knocking. She closed it behind her roughly and leaned back against it. She crossed her arms over her crest and glared at the person looking her dead in the eye in front of her.

* * *

A figure watched Toph as she entered the prince's room without even knocking. Such a disgrace! And to the prince himself! A smirk came across the figures face as a thought entered their mind. That slave was going to learn respect if it killed her.

* * *

Aang looked at the girl in the eye that stood before him. He pretended to be totally oblivious to her scowl.

"Good morning," he said cheerily. "How are you doing? Did the stuff work?" Aang stared at the girl as her frown deepened. He walked up to her. "What's the matter?" his voice showing that he was actually concerned.

Finally, she spoke. "What's up with you? Is this some kind of trick? Are you trying to get me into bed with you?" she spat in his face. Aang snapped his head up at her comment.

"What? No, no! That's not it! I just wanted to help," Aang told her as calmly as he could. A frown appeared on her face again, as if she didn't believe her. But instead of a rebuttal, he got a question. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Come here," he told her as he waved her over to the couch. She hesitantly walked over and sat down on the opposite side that he was sitting. He smiled at her even though she couldn't see it. To him, this girl was special.

As quickly as he could, he went over what she was supposed to do every day. It was pretty simple. Clean his room, do all of his tedious work, and do anything he told her to do. She wrinkled up her nose at the last one and he laughed. "Don't worry," he told her as he put a hand on her shoulder, "I don't ask for much." She looked surprised at his touch but quickly rid her face of emotions.

He stood up and started to head out the door. "I'm going down to breakfast now. I'm sure you'd like to eat something too if you haven't already." He began to walk out the door before turning back around to face her. "See you later."

* * *

Toph continued to sit where she had been sitting when Aang left. She couldn't believe that the whole time he was talking he had been inching closer to her. This made her feel a little uncomfortable, but… 

She only knew the prince for a few hours, but she felt comforted in his presence. Still, that didn't change the fact that he technically owned her. That made her feel low.

She stood up to head back to the slave chambers. But as she exited the room, a hand clamed itself over her mouth and dragged her into the room across the hall.

Toph slid her small foot across the stone floor and the person holding her got moved along with the dirt. "Who do you think you are?!" Toph hollered at the person.

"I think that I'm way higher than you in class!" a way too perky voice told her. Toph just rolled her eyes at the girl. She was just some stuck up rich girl that believed that class really made a difference to everyone.

"You shouldn't be talking to the prince that way! You're only a slave. I'm a daughter of a highly respected merchant. He's here doing official business and this is my chance to talk to the prince. I will not have my chance be disturbed by some floozy slave!" the other girl screamed.

Toph sighed. It was just another member of the prince's fan club. She had met plenty of them when her mother had guests over, even if they were all much older than the prince himself.

"Look, you can spend all the time you want with _his majesty_," Toph spat out, over emphasizing his majesty. "I want nothing to do with that jerk."

With that, Toph stormed out of the room before the other girl could say a word.

* * *

Aang sat with his father at the breakfast table, waiting for their guests to arrive. It wasn't that the guests were late, but that King Sako liked to be early to make everyone else feel like they were late. Today was a good example of that. 

While waiting, King Sako started making conversation with his son.

"So son, how are things going for you lately?"

"Things are going good father," Aang answered simply.

"Studies going good?"

"Yup."

"Courted any good looking girls lately?"

Aang stopped breathing for just a second as that question left his father's mouth. Blood immediately started rushing to Aang's face. He turned his head up to look at his father in the eyes. King Sako had an expecting look in his eyes.

"Um…" Aang rubber the back of his neck, something he always did when he was nervous. "Not… really…"

"What?" his father asked him, generally surprised. "Son, next year you will be coming of age to marry, and in only three you will inherit the crown from me. The people of our kingdom will expect you to have a wife and possibly even a child by then."

Aang's face burned even more at the thought of having a child. He was definitely not ready for that yet.

"Father… I'm just having a hard time finding the girl for me," Aang explained, still rubbing the back of his neck and blushing.

"Do you want me to set up a match-maker for you so?" King Sako asked sincerely.

Aang scowled slightly at that thought. A match-maker was only one step closer to an arranged marriage, something Aang didn't believe in at all. "That's really not necessary…" he mumbled, looking towards the doors of the giant dining room, hoping their guests would pop in soon and force his father to change the subject.

"Nonsense, I'll have the best match-maker in the kingdom come by as soon as possible," King Sako said while beaming at his son.

Aang slumber down in his chair a little bit. "Great…" he mumbled.

The tow sat in silence for a while until their guests finally arrived. The merchant and his daughter were shocked that the king and prince were already there. The two bowed as they entered.

"I'm so sorry for out tardiness your highness," the merchant said swiftly. King Sako put on the face he always wore in situations like this. It said that he was upset with the fact that they were 'late' but he was going to put up with it anyway. Aang rolled his eyes. This was just another one of his father's tricks.

"It's nothing. Please, have a seat," the king motioned to the seats on his left.

The two quietly walked over to the seats next to the king. The merchant sat closest to the king while his daughter sat across from Aang. From out of the corner of his eye, Aang saw his father smile knowingly at him, as if saying 'maybe we don't need to get you a match-maker after all.' Aang groaned inwardly.

Breakfast was served soon after their arrival and the king and merchant were talking about trade while Aang and the girl sat quietly. Aang made it halfway through breakfast without saying a word saying a word to the girl when his father noticed it.

"Son, you haven't said a word to the young lady here," the king turned towards the merchant and his daughter. "I'm terribly sorry; he can be a little shy sometimes. So, what's your name?" the king asked his daughter.

"My name is Meng," she replied in a sweet voice.

"What a lovely name. My son is Aang," King Sako introduced.

Aang looked up from his plate for the first time and got a good look at the girl. She had black hair that was braided and the braids stuck out to the sides. She was smiling at him with a toothy grin and he noticed that her two front teeth had a gap between them. Her skin was a cross between a pale white and chocolate brown. Her clothes were slightly beat up, but still in pretty good shape. In his eyes, she wasn't very attractive, but still, he put a smile on his face. "Charmed."

Meng looked so excited that Aang had just spoken her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Prince Aang."

To continue the conversation so that his father would no intervene again, he asked Meng where she was from. Instead of a short response like she expected, she started talking about everything she knew about where she was from. Aang sighed and pretended he was listening to what she was saying. Aang knew that the only reason she was rattling on like this was because she was nervous.

After breakfast ended and Meng finally finished her story, all four of them stood up. "Well, this was enjoyable. We must finish this conversation during lunch. Aang, will you be joining us?" King Sako asked his son.

"No father. Some of my friends are coming over around that time," Aang told him.

"Well then, why doesn't Meng join you?" the king put in.

Aang pressed his lips together for a moment before answering. "That'd be great," he turned towards Meng. "We're meeting in my room around noon. I'll see you there."

Aang left the dining room after that. Once he was out of ear shot, he started running towards his room. Once there, he threw the door open and flopped down on his bed. When the door slammed shut behind him he screamed into his pillows.

"Geez Twinkle Toes, are you trying to make me go deaf too?" a voice behind him asked.

Aang's head shot up at the voice and he turned his head to face her.

"Twinkle Toes?" he asked her. She nodded to him. "You're so light on his feet, so it fits you perfectly."

"How do you know that?" he asked her curiously.

She just sighed. "It's a long story you probably wouldn't care to hear." She turned her back towards toward him and continued cleaning his room.

"Try me, I've got plenty of time," he told her quietly, but yet in a strong voice. He sat up and motioned for her to come over and sit next to him. She just gave him a weird look.

He looked straight into her eyes and remembered she was blind. He wanted to slap himself for forgetting that. "Sorry," he mumbled, a blush rising to his cheeks. "Come here and tell me."

She shrugged and walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. She kept one foor in the ground, just in case. Aang took a guess that she still didn't completely trust him.

"So, how do you know that I'm light on my feet?" he asked her again.

"Because I can tell by the vibrations though the ground," she said simply.

Aang was silent for a while. "Huh?" he asked dumbly.

She gave a half laugh. "I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand," she accused him. This hurt Aang a little bit and he knew he was going to have to be persistent if he wanted her to trust him.

She was about to stand up when he reached out to her and gently grabbed onto her arm. "Then explain it to me," Aang begged. Her face read that she was surprised that he cared so much. He smiled at her. He knew her story was going to be much more interesting that whatever Meng had talked about.

The girl sighed and continued. "I'm an earth bender. Even though I'm blind, I can see with earth bending. When I'm touching the earth, I can see through the vibrations that are sent out."

She had only said a few words, but Aang's mouth was already agape. "That's amazing," he whispered in awe.

She shrugged. "Maybe to you, but it's not that big of a deal."

Aang shook his head. "No, that really is incredible." The two sat in a nice silence for a while before Aang spoke up. "Are you mad at me?" he asked, referring to the other day.

"Nah, it wasn't your fault," she told him truthfully.

Aang smiled at her. Then something dawned on him. "Hey… I don't know your name," he said while looking straight at her.

"Took you long enough air head. My name's Toph, and right now, you're going to have to let go of my arm," she told Aang. He looked down and noticed that he was still holding onto her arm. He blushed a dark red and removed his hand. "Sorry."

"Whatever," Toph said as she stood up and continued to clean his room. She finished picking up the rest of his dirty clothes and started walking out of his room when he spoke up again.

"Toph… that's a beautiful name," he told her in a dreamy voice.

She paused for a minute before leaving his room. Aang smiled before leaning back on his pillows and closing his eyes, picturing the light shade of pink that had graced Toph's cheeks before she left.

* * *

**A/N: Well, it's definetly longer than the others. Whatever. Comments are welcome.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As much as I do appericate the reviews saying things like "good story, update soon," those don't really help me get any better. I'd really appericate constructive critisim. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Toph… that's a beautiful name." Those words rang though her head. She wanted to smack herself when she had blushed at the comment that air head had given her. It was so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could she be so stupid?!

The worst part was that he had seen it. He had seen her act of stupidity while she left. Now he would think that she liked him. Ugh…

Toph stormed down to the slave chambers where Katara was waiting to do Aang's laundry. _And eagerly too,_ Toph added to herself.

Toph couldn't understand every girl's obsession with that guy. He was just another one of the high class jerks that belittled everyone else and treated women like property.

Toph threw open the door and stomped inside with an aura of disgust around her. She just about didn't notice how the ground was shaking with every step she took. Apperantly Katara didn't notice either, because when Toph tossed the clothes onto her head, she shrieked at Toph's rudeness.

"What was that Sugar Queen?" Toph demanded with a voice that told Katara to back off.

"Geez, bad day much?" Katara asked in a serene voice. Toph was unfazed by her peace work. Toph plopped down next to Katara. "You could say that."

Katara started doing the laundry with such a gentle touch Toph was surprised that the clothes were getting clean. The silence they sat in lasted for a few minutes before Katara decided to make conversaion. "So… my brother told me you talked to him this morning," Katara started off.

"You have a brother?" Toph asked, looking up from staring into space.

"Sokka."

"Oh yeah. What of it?"

"He couldn't stop talking about you all morning."

There was a silence between them as Toph took in what Katara had just said. And the voice Katara had said it in wasn't a plus either. Then Toph spoke up. "I had a five minute conversaion with him. How did he drag that on all morning?"

"He went on and on about how what you said to him, how you had trusted him to not take advantage of you, and how you were so impressed by what he told you," Katara told her friend. Toph laughed out loud.

"What?" Katara demanded, momentarily stopping her task.

"He way over exaggerated!" Toph said through all her laughter. Katara chuckled and continued washing.

Toph stopped laughing soon afterwards and the girls started to talk about anything and everything. Soon though, Katara finished Aang's laundry and bended it all dry with her water bending. Now Toph just had to take it back up to Aang's room and their morning chores would be done. Toph still groaned.

"What's the matter?" Katara asked her as she stacked the rest of the clothes in Toph's arms.

"I get to go see his royal pain in the ass again," she mumbled.

"But the prince is so nice! And he's sweet, caring-"

"Save it Sugar Queen," Toph said, cutting her off as she started upstairs.

Toph walked as slowly as she could on her way to the prince's room. She took this extra time to think.

As her rough feet slid across the smooth floor, she thought about the family she was no longer around. She was grateful for that. They were horrible people. They did horrible things to her, one of the big things being locking her up in the house to "protect" her. And it was all because she couldn't see with her eyes.

Her parents never listened to her when she told them she could take care for herself. There always had to be two guards with her at all times. She had never left the grounds of her house before all this. She never had any friends and it depressed her just thinking about it.

Toph knew her parents had been disappointed in her. She remembered when her parents had tried to replace her with another child, preferably a boy. They had always wanted a son to carry on the family name. Someone to inherit the family business. Someone to be a great leader. Someone that wasn't her.

She remembered clearly the day when her mother found out that she could no longer have children. Both of her parents had cried for hours that night, and when she went to ask them what was wrong, her mother hit her. It made Toph's heart sting just thinking about it. It was one of the only times either one of them hit her, but it stung more on the inside that it had on the out. She asked one of the maids why her mom had hit her and the maid told her that it was because she was worthless. That all she was good for was marrying off for money. That was the worst day of Toph's life.

A tear slid down Toph's cheek at memory, but she quickly whipped it away. No one was to see her soft side. Ever.

Toph had to admit that even though Aang was a pain, he didn't treat her like she was nothing. The little respect she had for him was in that form. But it still didn't make up for anything.

Toph reached his room and kicked open the door. She started to put his clothes away when he walked in. His face showed signs of relief.

"Oh, there you are! I was starting to wonder if you ran into my father. He doesn't seem to like you very much," Aang told her, happy that he found her.

"Why would you care if your father found me?" Toph spat at him.

Aang stared at her with his mouth slightly a jarred. Something inside of him snapped. "What do you mean 'why do I care?!' Haven't you gotten it by now? I care about you!" he told her in a loud voice.

"And when did these feelings of care show up? I haven't even known you for twenty-four hours!" she said, matching his tone of voice, if not exceeding it. "Besides, I don't need your sympathy. I'm fine on my own!"

Aang's eyes widened as he noticed a tear slide down her face. He reached out his hand to brush it away, but she swatted his hand away and turned her back on him.

Toph continued putting his clothes away in silence. Aang just stood where he was, staring at her. An awkward silence filled the air.

Aang let out a breath he was holding in and put his head down. "Why don't you believe me?" The words could barely be heard, even with Toph's sensitive ears. She huffed at him.

"Give me one reason why I should?" she asked him rudely, even though deep down, she really did want to know. Aang just hung his head even farther, if that was even possible.

Toph didn't say anything as she exited his room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

_What's wrong with me_? Aang asked himself while he sat on his bed with his head in his hands. _Why do I care about her? She's right; it's only been one day!_

Aang stood up and started pacing. Maybe he felt that he had to protect her because of her blindness. No… that couldn't be it. She can obviously take care of herself. Maybe he felt bad for her because she was being forced to do all these things. But he knew that wasn't it either.

Aang stopped walking as the thought that was always there surfaced itself. Maybe… maybe he was starting to like her. His eyes widened when he realized that deep down, he knew that was the correct thought. It wasn't nearly close to like, liking her, but he defiantly felt attracted to her.

Now he felt like screaming. He was falling for a girl he couldn't have! He turned around quickly and slashed the air, making something like an air blade so through the air. It made contact with one of the standing candle sticks and cut it clean in half.

Aang stood rooted in that spot for a few minutes before he realized what he had done. He groaned at the fact that he lost control of his bending.

Behind him, a deep voice started talking. "Whoa there, what's with the violence?"

Aang turned around to face the voice talking. There stood in his doorway was his best friend Zuko.

Zuko and his sister Azula were the children of the king's most trusted governor, Lord Ozai. Azula was the favorite of Lord Ozai, despite the fact that most upper class parents wanted sons. Lord Ozai had made this clear to Zuko a few years ago when he gave Zuko a huge burn mark over his left eye.

The two of them had become friends because of the one big thing they had in common. They both lost their mothers on the same day. The day Aang's mother died was the day Zuko's mother ran away. Aang always thought Zuko had it worse than himself. Aang's mother didn't have choice in leaving or not. Zuko's mother couldn't take her life anymore so she just left it. That had to be horrible for Zuko. Even to this day, Aang could tell it bothered him, and that happened three years ago.

Aang looked into his friend's golden eyes that showed he was worried about Aang. "Hey Zuko," he said, hoping his friend would forget about the incident he just saw. He didn't.

"What's wrong with you? I've never seen so violent," Zuko stated while leaning against the doorframe.

Aang slumped down a little. "It's everything. I'm falling for a girl that I probably can't be with and my dad wants to set up a match-maker for me."

Aang drooped down onto his knees and plopped down on the floor. Now that he was thinking about everything together, he realized how bad the situation really was.

"Look, an arranged marriage really is not that bad," Zuko told him. Aang looked up at his best friend in disbelief.

"How can you say that?! I'd be marrying some girl I don't even know and don't even love. And on top of it all, I like someone else!" Aang said, his voice rising.

Zuko got off the wall and sat down in front of Aang. "Look, it's not like you would meet her and then get married a few minutes later. You are still too young. So stop freaking out about it."

Aang nodded his head and looked into his lap. "What about liking someone else?" he asked in a small voice.

"Well, why do you need a match maker if you like someone?" Zuko asked confused, his brow scrunching up.

"I can't be with her," the air bender whispered.

"Why not?"

"She's a slave."

"What?!" Aang cringed at Zuko's loud voice. He nodded in confirmation, and all that came out of Zuko's mouth a small "wow."

Moments of silence past by before it was broken by the door opening. In walked Azula, and her two friends, Ty Lee and Mai. When Mai and Zuko locked eyes for a brief moment, it didn't go unnoticed to the rest of the room when they blushed. Aang shot Zuko a look that asked 'Are you two together?' Zuko didn't give any sign of a response, but that was just as good as giving a yes.

"So what are we doing today?" Azula asked in her usual icy tone.

"Actually, we have to wait for some other girl to show up. Meg I think her name is," Aang deadpanned.

Azual shot him one of her gazes that could bring the best knight in the world to his knees. "Are you kidding me? You invited some low class bitch to hang out with us?"

Aang was about to open his mouth to tell Azula about how this was his father's idea, but Ty Lee beat him to it. "Azula! This could be Aang's new girlfriend! Do not scare her away! He needs a girlfriend badly."

"I do not!" Aang defended himself, but it fell upon deaf ears.

The two girls continued to fight. During this time, Zuko and Mai took this opportunity to sneak into the back corner of the room to do who knew what. Aang debated over which pair was more interesting to watch. Azula and Ty Lee won.

The girls were arguing over a stupid topic, but since Azula wasn't winning this battle by a long shot, she was getting angrier. The fire Azula controlled was starting to warm the room by a few degrees, and Aang knew this was a good moment to step in.

"Girls, stop it!" he yelled. They ignored him completely. He was about to get up off the floor to break up the fight, but a knock at the door halted them. "Come in!" he called from his spot on the floor.

The bedroom door slowly creaked open and a hyper girl bounced in nervously. Aang could easily read what was going through her head. _Wow, I'm hanging out with the prince himself! Next we'll be dating, then getting married… oh! I should start making a guest list… _

Aang flashed her a grin that was the same one he used when his dad wanted him to do something ridicules. In other words, it was only half hearted.

"Hey. Thanks for coming," Aang said kindly. He noticed Azula roll her eyes at him from the corner she was in. She waltzed up to the other girl smoothly and looked down at her. The action seemed to inflict fear onto the other girl's face. It was one of the things Azula did very well and was proud of.

"Look Meg…" she started off, but she was interrupted.

"Actually, my name's Meng," the girl put in bravely.

Azula's golden eyes flashed at the disrespect the girl had just shown her. If there weren't four witnesses in the room, Meng would be a pile of burnt flesh.

"Nobody cares. Just get one thing straight. Even though your dad and Aang's dad might be chummy right now, once you leave, you will both be forgotten. That is, of course, unless you pull something else close to what you just pulled. NO ONE interrupts me and if that happens again, a slave's life will seem like a luxury to you," Azula sneered coldly. Even though Aang knew this was a valid threat from Azula, he was so used to them that they didn't have much of an affect of him. Meng, on the other hand, was shaking. That made Azula smile smugly.

Azula turned around and addressed everyone else. "So, did any of you go to Yue's sixteenth birthday? I didn't see any of you there?" Azula asked as if nothing had happened.

* * *

A few hours later, while Zuko was escorting Mai, along with Azula and Ty Lee back to their rooms, Meng sat with Aang alone in his room.

Meng hadn't loosened up at all while she was hanging out with them. She had been either way too shy to talk or couldn't stop talking. Both had been equally annoying.

Aang looked over at his closet and remembered that Toph had been in the spot just hours ago. He started to wonder what she was doing at that moment. She must be pretty bored since she had nothing to do. He wished he could invite her up here with him, but that would look extremely suspicious. His demeanor visibly changed and a voice asked him about it.

"What are you thinking about?" Meng asked him.

Aang turned his head towards her and was surprised to find her so close to his face. He was also surprised at that look on her face. She was looking at him as if he was a supreme being and what ever he was about to say was equal to an award winning speech.

"Just stuff," he shrugged. Her face dropped visibly.

"What kind of stuff?

"People."

"Who?!"

Aang was taken back by her outburst. She must be imagining that he was thinking about her. Aang quickly racked his brain for a valid lie.

"I'm considering requesting another slave to help the blind one," he told her. It was hard for Aang to refer to Toph as 'the blind one,' but there was no way he was going to risk everything for that.

"A slave for a slave?"

"Yeah, kind of."

There was silence for a few minutes before Zuko returned. Meng stood up. "Well, I'll see you later Prince Aang." She bowed to him and left.

"Bye," Aang called to her, waving slightly.

After she left, Zuko started telling Aang the reason he was later. Aang laughed at the fact that Ty Lee thought Aang would want to spend some alone time with Meng, so she had forcibly held Zuko back. The two chatted until night and, having had dinner brought to them, when they went off to bed.

* * *

**A/N: Constructive critisim is greatly apperciated! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Not much to say, just that I'm slightly disappointed by the few amount of reviews. If it's that bad, please tell me. And thanks to those who did review. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Aang sat on his bed watching Toph as she cleaned his room. He tilted his head to the side and a smile crept over his face. _She's so pretty,_ he thought to himself. Aang felt like he had to restrain himself from going up to her and wrapping his arms around her.

His feelings for her had grown even more over the past couple weeks. She still hadn't warmed up to him yet, but he was trying with all his might to impress her. Even with Meng still hanging around him almost every second of the day and his father bringing in a different girl for him to meet every other night, his feelings for Toph were still growing. It was safe to say that he had a crush on her.

Toph still found him overly annoying though. They way he was always staring at her and trying to show her all this stuff was creeping her out. But over the past few weeks, she had gotten closer to the other slaves, even if most of them felt as if they had to help her do everything.

Toph slammed the doors to Aang's dresser shut as she finished cleaning his insanely messy room. "There, done. I'll see you later," she called to him as she started to exit.

But Aang noticed something different in her voice. It didn't sound as strong and assertive as it should have. He jumped off the bed and used his air bending to beat her to the door. "Wait," he said to her. She stopped, looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked, wanting to get back downstairs.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked her, concern filling his voice. The question threw her off. That wasn't what she was expecting.

"I'm fine," she told him, trying to push her way past him, but he held his ground. Toph was once again surprised. She'd never seen him so determined.

"No, your not," he said, trying to convince her. "Your voice is off and…" he pressed his palm to her forehead, "you have a fever."

She pushed his hand away from her head. "I'm fine Twinkle Toes. I don't need your help." She succeeded in pushing past him and exiting his room. He followed her.

"Would you just hold up for one second?" he asked her. He reached out and grabbed her hand, spinning her around. "Toph, you're sick. You need to rest."

She pulled her hand away from him. "I don't get sick."

"Then take the day off and rest. Please," he begged. He didn't want her getting sick, that's how his mother died. He didn't want to loose her that way too.

"Twinkle Toes, I can do your stupid chores. I don't need to rest," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Aang wanted to get on his knees and beg her. "Please!" He was ready to cry. He couldn't loose her too.

"Twinkle Toes, what's the big deal?" she asked him, getting angry.

Now Aang was crying slightly. He flung his arms around her let the tears fall freely. Toph just stood rooted in herspot, her eyes wide. "Please rest. You'll get worse if you don't," he said loudly. She could feel his tears soaking her shirt. "I can't loose you too," he whispered, burying his face into her shoulder.

Toph's heart skipped a beat at his words and her anger started to simmer down. This was obviously a big deal to him and he wasn't going to give up on it. She awkwardly put her arms loosely around his larger frame and gave him a slight hug. "Alright Twinkle Toes. I'll rest today. Calm down," she said, slightly caring, but still strict.

Aang gave her a squeeze before letting her go. He wiped away some tears with the back of his hand. "Thanks. And I'm sorry I just freaked out on you," he said, his voice still shaky.

"It… it's okay," she said, feeling strange because she was being nice to him. But it felt kind of good. She turned to leave. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," she said, giving him a slight wave.

"Bye," he called to her.

* * *

Toph walked back to the slave chamber content. For some reason, when she let down her barrier keeping Aang out of her life, it made her feel good. As if it was supposed to be that way.

Toph slowly trudged through the heavy wooden door and was surprised to find the room completely empty. She walked in and plopped down on the floor, leaned back against the musty wall and closed her eyes. She was just falling in and out of sleep when someone else joined Toph.

"What's the Prince's slave doing in here?" a deep voice asked her.

"What's the tack cleaner doing here?" she shot back. The boy scowled.

"I don't just clean tack. I also take care of the horses," he explained. Toph snorted at him and went back to trying to sleep. Although, she found that increasingly difficult when she felt the boy stick his face up to hers.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Name's Jet. What's yours?" he asked her.

"Toph. Now go away. I'm tired," she snapped, now actually feeling drowsy and starting to think Aang was right about her being sick.

"Wow, what do you and the prince do?" he teased her. She glared at him in response. "Fine, I get it. I can tell when I'm not wanted." He stood up and walked away from her, looking back at her only once. She knew he was trying to get her sympathize and call him back, but she was too tired to care. Instead of leaning against the wall, she shifted so that she was lying on the floor. Slowly, she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Jet was on his way back to work in the fields when he saw Sokka in the distance. They had never gotten along and Jet knew a good way to make him mad.

He swiftly strode up to Sokka and stood just a little ways behind him. "You know, your relationship with Toph must be hard," he commented.

"What relationship? We're friends," Sokka replied, not turning to face Jet.

"Yeah, sure. Because when friends talk about friends, their voice always fills with awe and admiration," Jet shot at him smugly.

Sokka sighed and turned around to face Jet. "What do you want?"

"Just to tell you that you've got some competition if you want to win over Toph," Jet said, using his good charismatic skills to make Sokka hang onto his every word.

"If the competition is you, then I'm sure I'm fine," Sokka said confidently.

Jet laughed slightly. "As hot as she is, I'm not your competition. The Prince of our great lands is," Jet said, crossing his arms over his chest triumphantly.

Sokka swallowed visibly at the news. He narrowed his eyes at Jet. "You're lying," he said, trying to convince himself more than anything.

"Oh, but I'm not. When I was getting my water canteen from the chambers, she was already back. But she wasn't just sitting around. She was trying to sleep. She looked really exhausted, her clothes were messed up, and she looked slightly happy," Jet said, raising an eyebrow at Sokka. "What does that sound like to you?"

Sokka's face started to turn red. He stormed past Jet towards where he knew Toph was. Jet laughed to himself. He knew it wasn't what he had let on to Sokka, but he felt good knowing it had gotten under his skin.

* * *

"Toph!" Sokka screamed when he entered the slave chambers. He heard a moan from the corner and looked around to see Toph groggily sitting up. "What do you want Snoozles?" she demanded.

Sokka stormed up to her. "What are you doing?"

"I was sleeping, which you disturbed. Thank you very much," she complained.

"Why are you sleeping?" he hollered in her face.

"Because I'm tired," she explained, hoping he'd go away.

"Why are you tired?" She was just about to yell at him to leave her alone, but he opened his big mouth again. "Is the prince making you do… you know… stuff?"

Toph's blind eyes seemed to flash and her anger snapped. "What?! How could you even think that someone could make me do anything?" she yelled at him. Sokka was shocked that she was yelling at him for this. "Just leave me alone." She rolled onto her side so that she was facing the wall, her back to Sokka. He sighed and left her alone.

* * *

Toph woke up a few later with a horrible headache. She ignored it and stood up, hungry for some food. She pulled out some dried bread and started to eat. She couldn't believe Sokka had accused her of that. Aang would never ask her to do anything like that, and even if he did, she wouldn't do it.

Toph hung her head as her headache got worse. She clunked her head on the table and closed her eyes. She took in the peace and quiet, before it was ruined by Sokka coming back.

"Toph, you're finally awake," he said, sounding relieved.

"Yeah, I am. Now leave me alone," she said, still angry at him.

"Toph… I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. I'm also sorry I accused you of that. You're a strong girl and respect yourself. I'm sorry," he said softly.

Toph sighed. "Whatever Sokka. It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is. I don't want him taking advantage of you because you're his slave. I care about you as if you were my sister," he told her, even though he liked her way more than that.

"Thanks Sokka, but I can take care of myself," she told him. He nodded to her.

Toph stood up and went back to her corner and lied down. "Are you alright? You look a little paler than usual," he asked her.

"I'm fine, just tired." She closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep.

"Alright, just get some sleep then," he said to her before leaving.

* * *

"So, was she awake?" Katara asked her brother when he joined her in the fields, where she was relaxing and he was working. She was sitting on a tree stump, swinging her leg back and forth in anticipation.

"Yeah, she was," Sokka told her, getting back to work.

"Did she except your apology?" Katara asked, wanting everything to work out with them both. She held her breath as Sokka answered.

"Yeah, but I'm worried about her. She's seems under the weather. I hope she's not sick," Sokka said solemnly.

"Don't worry Sokka, Toph's tough. She can take being sick. She'll be fine," Katara reassured her brother. Sokka nodded in response. "If she gets any worse, I'll check on her," Katara told her brother.

"Okay." Sokka was confident in his sister's healing abilities. What he wasn't confident in was that she might be too late.

* * *

Meng had joined Aang again in his room and they were talking. Well, more like, Meng was talking and Aang was pretending to listen. He didn't mind her as a person, but she never stopped talking.

"So, Aang, how are the suitors your father picked out for you?" Meng asked, very interested in his answer.

Aang snapped back to reality at her question. "Oh, they're okay. But so far, the five that have shown up aren't my type," the prince answered. Meng put on a sympathetic look.

"Aw, it must be so hard for you; having to choose from the girls that you hardly know."

Aang just shrugged. "Hey, do you want to do something?" he asked her, changing the subject. Aang could practically hear her heart skip a beat.

"Um, sure. What do you want to do?" she asked him eagerly, forgetting about their previous conversation.

"Let's just go outside. It's really boring in here."

"Okay!"

They both stood up and headed outside. Aang suggested they walk through the gardens of the palace, and Meng agreed. When they reached the back of the castle where the gardens were, Meng was surprised to see a giant wall off in the distance.

"What's that?" she asked him. Aang looked to where she was pointing and saw the giant wall.

"Oh, that's where their building my wife-to-be's private garden, who ever that will be," he said, not happy that they were back on the subject of him having to get married.

Meng stared at him with wide eyes. "Wow, that's so sweet of you. To give your wife her own private garden like that," she said in awe. Aang just shrugged.

"I guess it'd be a little better if they at least waited until I chose who I was going to marry, not just build it before hand." Meng looked down, now ashamed she had thought it was a sweet gesture. She looked up at Aang again and noticed his face was all twisted up.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, stopping. He stopped walking right next to her.

"This whole getting married thing. It doesn't sound like I had hoped it would be when I was younger. My mother always taught me marriage happens when you love someone and want to spend the rest of your life with them. But now, it feels like I'm being forced to love some girl my dad wants me to spend the rest of my life with. It's not fair," he said, sadness filling his voice.

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will turn out alright," she encouraged him, hoping he would see her in a new light after this. Preferably one he would like to marry.

He gave her a sad smile. "Thanks Meng. I hope you're right."

* * *

Then next day, when Aang awoke, he was surprised to find Toph already in his room, putting things away.

"Toph, what are you doing here so early?" he asked groggily.

"It's not early, Twinkle Toes. You're late," she explained to him. His eyes almost bugged out of his head.

"What? What time is it?" he asked as he frantically started getting ready.

"Just around noon."

"What!" He ran over to his wardrobe and started pulling things out when Toph started laughing. He turned to face her. "It's not really noon, is it?"

"Oh, it is." Aang felt himself start to freak out again. "But you're fine. I overheard your dad talking about how you're going to need to be well rested for today, so he let you sleep in."

Aang groaned and slumped down onto the floor. "What's your problem?" Toph asked him.

"If my dad says I need to get my rest, that means he wants me to meet more suitors," he half yelled.

Toph's eyes widened at the thought of suitors. She now had a ping of sympathy for Aang that she didn't have before. She knew what it was like to have a bunch of people trying to woo her.

Toph knelt onto the ground next to Aang. "Look Twinkle Toes, it won't be that bad. Your farther wants you to be happy, so he'll pick out some nice girls for you. All you have to do is listen and talk to them. Once it's over, it's over. You never have to see them again," she told him.

He looked up at her funny. "Who are you and what have you done with Toph?" he asked.

She punched him in the arm. "I'm still me, Twinkle Toes. I just know what you're going through."

Aang's eyes widened in realization. She had a life before coming here. He couldn't believe he had never come to terms with that fact. That meant she could have had an engagement before they even met. He started to feel his stomach fill with jealousy.

"So, did you ever end up picking someone?" he asked her, really wanting to know the answer.

"I wouldn't have been able to choose someone if I wanted to. My parents were going to choose for me. They didn't care if I was happy or not, just as long as they got something from my marriage," she said, a scowl appearing on her face.

"That's horrible," he said softly as she stood up.

"Yeah, well, it's over and done with." Aang could tell she didn't like being on the subject of her parents, so he let it drop.

He quickly got dressed and he was just about to leave when he stopped. Toph looked over at him funny. "What's the matter?" she asked him.

"Will you come visit me?" The out of context question threw her a little bit.

"What?"

"Will come visit me today? When I'm in the Great Hall with the suitors?"

"I… I don't think that would be appropriate."

"So what?"

_Wow. He really wants me to visit him…_ Toph thought to herself. "Alright. I will."

Aang's face lit up. "Great, I'll see you later."

* * *

Aang was very bored as he listened to the girl in front of him talk. Six girls had shown up today with their parents and while their parents were trying to convince the King that their daughter was right for the Prince, the girls were to try and win the Prince's heart. So far, none of them had even gotten close to being close.

He wished Toph would get here soon. She always managed to make him feel better, even though she wasn't trying.

Aang then saw her standing the door frame of the huge doors, waiting for something to happen. His face lit up and he excused himself from being with the girl that was talking to him.

He had to restrain himself from running up to her. When he finally got to her, he felt like he was going to burst. He was so happy she was there. "Hey, glad you came," he said to her.

"Geez Twinkle Toes. I didn't think you'd just leave all the other girls and come running to me," she said smirking.

"What makes you think I was running to you?" he asked, trying to hide the fact that he practically had been.

"Oh please, I could have picked that one up if I was downstairs." Aang felt a blush start to form across his face.

"So, how're your suitors?" she asked him. He sighed.

"Boring. All they talk about are themselves. After a while, their stories start to sound the same." She laughed at him.

Toph's demeanor changed though as she felt the King approach them. He placed a hand on the Prince's shoulder. "Son, those wonderful girls are wondering what happened to you. You should go back and entertain them," he said confidently.

"Yes father. I just had to tell my slave to do something important," Aang told his father. Aang's voice reminded Toph how a young child would talk to a parent after they had just finished being scolded and they felt bad about what they had done. He left Toph and his father was just about to follow Aang when he stopped and faced Toph.

"Listen. My son needs a wife and he doesn't need you taking away his time to choose one. Just do your job and leave him alone," he told her darkly.

"Yes Sir," Toph said, but with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. The King narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're lucky there are people in here slave, or I would have you punished immediately for that tone," he said before turning to leave. But before he left, he shoved her to the ground. "Stay away from my son."

* * *

"What?! He said that to you!" Aang yelled, outraged that his father would do that.

It was almost midnight and Toph was still talking to Aang in his room. The gathering of Aang's suitors had broken up about an hour earlier, and Toph just finished telling Aang what the King said to her.

Aang's loud voice rang through Toph's head. She still had a headache and his yelling was just making it worse. "Stop yelling Twinkle Toes. I already have a headache."

Aang immediately forgot about the incident that involved his father and walked over to her. "Are you still sick?" he asked her worriedly.

"I just have a headache." She tried to stand up, but she felt her knees buckle underneath her. She moaned as she felt a wave of nausea come over her.

"Toph!" Aang almost yelled, running over to her. Just as he reached her, Toph promptly threw up and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Oh my gosh, Toph!" was the last thing she heard before passing out.

* * *

**A/N: Whether it's bad or good, please review and tell me!**

**Thanks for reading. **


	7. Chapter 7

"Toph!" Aang yelled as he reached her. He tried to shake her awake, but it didn't work. Her face was flushed and she looked horrible. Worse than that, she looked weak.

He scoped up her limp figure in his arms and carried her to his bed. He gently laid her down before frantically running to a table that held his pitcher of water. He grabbed a towel and ran over to the girl on his bed. He dipped the towel in the cold water and placed it on her forehead.

Aang bit his lip and wondered what else he should to help her. He had no medical knowledge and he couldn't take her to the castle doctor, she wasn't allowed to help slaves with their illnesses. Nobody was supposed to; Aang's father believed that slaves were easily replaceable, so they weren't supposed to be cured.

Aang sighed in defeat and sat down on the bed next to her. The bed creaked slightly, but other than that, there was nothing to be heard save Toph's rough breathing.

Aang leaned back against the headboard. He felt horrible about not knowing what to do. He just stared at her for while before reaching out and touching her face. Her face was soft against his skin and he lightly stoked her cheek with his thumb. He started to let his hand slip from her face and travel down her face. His hand moved from her face to her neck, collar bone, shoulder, and arm until he reached her hand. He slipped his hand into her limp one and laced his fingers through hers. He was shocked when he felt an electric shock go through him.

What surprised him more was when he did that, Toph moaned a little and shifted a little bit. When he looked down to their clasped hands again, he noticed that her hand was now closed around his too. Aang smiled slightly at that.

Aang closed his eyes and laid his head on top of hers. Her heavy breathing was starting to slow down into a steady rhythm. He let out a deep sigh and let the noise consume him as he fell asleep.

* * *

Aang awoke to a moan and someone shifting next to him. He also felt something wet on his shirt. He groggily opened his eyes and noticed the wet cloth that was on Toph's head had fallen off. He tried to move a little before he realized that when Toph shifted, she shifted so that she was lying on his chest.

Aang smiled at the girl as he felt his heart swell. He reached up with one of his hands and brushed her bangs out of her face. He pressed his hand to her forehead, seeing if she still had a fever. She did.

As much as Aang wished they could stay like that forever, he knew if she was to get better, he would have to help. He gently shifted her over so that her head was lying on the pillow again and got up. He took the moist towel and soaked it again. After placing it on her head again, he glanced around the room and remembered the vomit on the floor. He knew he had to clean it up, as much as he didn't want to. He glanced out the window at the sky. The moon was still high in the sky, so he knew everyone was still sleeping.

_I'll just sneak out and get some rags and a bucket of water_, Aang thought to himself. He took one last look at Toph before exiting his room to try and find the things he needed. It took him a while to find the closet that held the supplies, but he finally found it and started rummaging though it. He just about didn't notice the figure in the doorway approach him.

"Hello?" a feminine voice asked him. Aang jumped up, startled, and hurriedly spun around, knocking a broom to the floor. Dust sprang up everywhere; making the light beams from the candle the other person was holding more visible.

"Yes?" Aang asked, worried it was one of the guards, despite the voice.

"Oh! Your highness! I'm so sorry! I thought it was an intruder!" the voice said rushed, no doubt trying to explain them self as fast as possible to avoid punishment. The figure dropped to the ground, bowing to Aang, hoping it would help. Aang knelt beside the person.

"Don't bow. It's alright. I'm just glad you aren't my father," Aang told the person. The other person chuckled slightly and sat up. Aang recognized the face slightly.

"Hey… are you one of the slaved here?" he asked. The girl's eyes went wide when he asked that.

"Ye..yes I am. I do your laundry," she mumbled the last part.

"What's your name?" There was silence it the closet as she recovered from her shock.

"My name's Katara," she said so quietly that Aang had to lean in a little to hear her. He held his hand out to her.

"Nice to meet you Katara," he said with a smile on his face. She shyly took his hand and shook it.

"Same to you." Aang stood up and started looking for the stuff he came for again.

"I'm sorry, I'd love to get to know you better, but I really must get back up to my room," he said to her as he found the stuff he was looking for. "Why don't you come up to my room with Toph sometime and we could talk?"

"That sounds great!" she said excitedly. Her face dropped as she remembered something. "Wait; do you know where Toph is? We haven't seen her for a few hours and are worried about her," Katara explained.

"She's up with me. Don't get any ideas either, she just fell asleep and I thought it'd be better if she just stayed where she was," Aang explained. Katara gave him a surprised look.

"Oh, alright. Well then, I'll see you around," she bowed once more before leaving.

Aang left shortly after Katara, hurrying back up to Toph, hoping no one had decided to peek in his room and saw she was there.

* * *

Katara walked sullenly around the castle, half wanted to forget about her conversation with the prince, half wanting to savor it. Her heart was slowly breaking as she remembered the look on the prince's face when he talked about Toph. Even though they had only mentioned her, she could see his face light up about it. He was quite taken with her; that was obvious. _Probably even more than that_, Katara thought to herself.

Katara soon found herself standing just infront of a window ledge she used to sit on when she was younger .She hopped up onto the window ledge, staring outside; a place she hardly got to go. She thought back to when she used to sit here, wishing the prince would suddenly fall for her and they would live happily ever after. Except in reality, Toph was living out her fantasy, and didn't even want it.

Katara suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She jumped up and spun around, ready to run, depending on who it was.

"Katara?" a voice asked her.

"Haru?"

"What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

There was a silence. "Well, are you going to answer me?" Katara asked.

"I asked you first, therefore, you should answer first," Haru said calmly. Katara scowled.

"Forget it. I'm going back to bed," she said. She started to walk back towards the chambers when Haru ran to catch up to her.

"Wait, something's bothering you. Tell me what it is," he said kindly.

"My life is none of your business Haru. Besides, I'm fine," Katara said, storming off. She didn't even glance back at the chest fallen Haru, who was now staring down at the floor.

* * *

Toph groggily awoke, but didn't want to open her eyes yet. It wasn't like it mattered, opening her eyes made her feel officially awake. She moaned a little when she felt her head start to throb. She reached her hand up to place it on her head, but it came in contact with a wet cloth instead.

Her eyes shot open and she felt around. She was in a soft bed that was obviously not her own, seeing as she slept on the ground. Her energy soon drained though and she felt a rush of cold hit her. She searched for the covers and when she found them, pulled them aside to crawl underneath them. It took her a while, but as soon as she was covered so that only her nose and up were showing, she started to fall back asleep again. But she couldn't do it without taking a deep breath and taking in the scent of the blanket.

That smell… it reminded her of something. The memory was fuzzy in her head, almost like a dream. A dream… that was it! She had dreamed of the scent just a little while ago. She snuggled down deeper into the pillow and continued to take in the scent.

As Toph continued to waver from reality to dream state and back, she heard someone else enter the room. She didn't bother trying to figure out who it was, she didn't care. She felt horrible and was comfortable. Whoever it was didn't say a word as they started working on something a little ways away.

He or she finished working after a few moments and she heard the light footsteps some closer to her. She felt the bed move and she started to get confused. Who was this and what were they doing?

Suddenly, a warm hand slipped itself into hers and gave it a squeeze. Toph felt her heart stop for a brief second. She couldn't believe how good it felt to have this person holding her hand, especially since she felt horrible. She may not normally like this, but something felt just so right about it, she couldn't help but let it continue.

When a painful throb went through Toph's head, she let out a small moan. "Toph?" the voice of Aang asked her. Toph didn't feel the anger she was expecting, so she cracked an eye open to let him know she was up.

"You're awake!" he said happily and quietly at the same time. He reached out and hugged her briefly before pulling away. Toph gathered up her energy to speak.

"What happened?" she whispered, for her voice hurt too much to speak in her normal firm voice.

"You collapsed on the ground and threw up before passing out," he explained to her. She closed her eyes at the thought of passing out. It was a symbol of weakness, something she tried her whole life to avoid.

Aang noticed her eyes close and thought something was wrong. He questioned her on this.

"I'm alright Twinkle Toes, it's just…" she thought about this for a minute before continuing, "nothing. It's nothing."

"Toph, it's not nothing. I can tell. Please tell me. I can help," he tried telling her. This just made her scowl.

"That's the problem Twinkle Toes. You'll help me. Well guess what. I don't need help. Not yours, not anybody's," she told him in a tiny but powerful voice. Toph rolled over onto her side, hoping the action would block him out.

Aang looked down into his lap. He knew what this was about. He had heard plenty of rumors about how Toph never accepted help. Normally, he respected that. But this was different. Something was obviously hurting her.

"Toph… I'm not offering my help as something out of pity. I'm offering my help because I want to help you." Toph was quiet for a few minutes and Aang sat there patiently the whole while.

"It's not really something you can help me with. It's over and done with now. Hopefully I'll never have to go through it again," she explained, sadness filling her voice. She felt the soothing hand that was once in her hand touch her shoulder gently and pull her so she was lying on her back.

"Then tell me about it. You might feel better," Aang told her, his hand not leaving her shoulder.

Toph sighed and coughed a bit before starting. "It's not all that big of a deal. It's just about my parents. They were always trying to protect me by keeping me locked up in the house. They never let me go outside, have friends, or play with any toys. They thought me how to be a proper lady, hoping that if my manners were good, then some suitor would look past the fact that I'm blind. They almost had something set up too, if your guards hadn't come and taken me from my home. So there, end of story," Toph ended bluntly.

But Aang knew that was hardly the end. What she told him was just a scratch on the surface of the real story. He was about to ask her something else but she uttered something instead.

"That's why I'm in your debt," she whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear it. He did, and it shocked him.

"You don't owe me anything Toph. My guards took you from your home to make you a slave, that's hardly a trade up."

"Are you kidding me? Here I can actually do stuff, at home I wasn't even allowed to lift my spoon. And here I won't be forced to spend the rest of my life with someone I can't stand. Your guards invaded my house just as the jerk and my parents were going to sign the marriage agreement. I didn't get a say in it at all."

"Was he that bad?"

"Yes, he was that bad. He was a rich, fat, and old guy who just wanted me to give him more kids. He kept telling my parents that he treat me like a woman should be treated. He made it sound like a good thing to them, but I knew it was different. He would have treated me like dirt. So yes, I am in your debt. You prevented me from having to marry him." Once Toph finished, she felt better. Not sickness wise, but in her heart. She coughed some more and her was throat hurting from talking so much, but she knew it was worth it.

"You're still not in my debt Toph. You'll never be in debt to me," Aang said softly, rubbing her shoulder a bit. She gave him a half smile before exhaustion started to come over her again.

There was a long pause when Toph thought that Aang had nothing more to add and started to let sleep take over her. "Hey Toph?" This pulled her from her sleep slightly.

"Yeah?"

"How about when you're better, we go outside?" Aang suggested.

For the first time she could remember for a long time, Toph smiled. "I'd like that Twinkle Toes," she said before falling back asleep.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is a little shorted than some of the others, but after this it skips to when Toph is better and it didn't seem to fit in this chapter to me. **

**I'd also like to thank all the wonderfull people who reviewed my last chapter and all the chapters before that. It encorages me to write more. **

**Please review and thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well, my brain is totally fried... but the chapter is finally finished! Whoo! I hope you like it. I've been working on it for weeks. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Toph soon got better, and she was really excited to go outside with Aang. The only time she ever remembered going outside was when the guards dragged her from her house. The more she thought about that, the more she got depressed. She hopped Aang would work everything out. At that moment, Toph was sitting in her corner, hoping Aang would come get her soon like he had said he would. 

As Toph sat impatiently tapping her fingers on the floor, she knew some of the others in the room were staring at her. She knew it was because today she was happy and she never acted happy. She couldn't even remember the last time she was this happy.

When Toph's sensitive ears picked up a knock on the door, her eyes lit up and jumped up. "I'll get it!" she said excitedly.

She ran over to the door and opened it but was disappointed when she found out if wasn't Aang. "Yes?" she asked.

"Are you Toph?" the person asked her.

"Yes…" she answered warily.

"You're supposed to come with me," the voice said. Everyone in the room stopped talking and the room went dead silent. Some were scared for Toph, like Katara and Sokka, others, like Jet, just wanted to see what was going to happen.

The man at the door grabbed Toph's arm and pulled her out the door, slamming it shut behind them. "Hey, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I have more important things to do than lead a little twerp around my friend's castle," the guy said. Toph was surprised at this.

"You're one of Aang's friends?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing, just the others probably think you're one of the guards taking me for punishment of something," Toph deadpanned.

"Aang said he had to meet you there, something about… something I can't remember. It doesn't matter; he'll probably tell you all about it whenever he gets there."

The two continued to walk in silence until they reached the door. Toph was extremely excited now. She started to reach for the doorknob, but the guy grabbed her hand. "Hey!"

"Sorry, you're not allowed to go outside unless it's part of your job or you're following your master around," he told her.

"What! That's not fair," she said angrily. She took her hand back and folded her arms across her chest. "I hate rules."

"You're not alone."

"What are you talking about? You can do whatever you want."

"Not quite. I have rules I have to follow more so than you do. And the punishments can be just as bad."

Toph stayed quiet for a minute. "Hey… what's it like outside?"

The guy huffed before answering. "It's not all it's hyped up to be. Well, not if you're outside the castle walls. I don't know where Aang's taking you, but it's probably going to be the best place in the world. The rest of the world is horrible. Aang's father ruined lots of it. That's why the people who know Aang can't wait until he has the throne," he explained to Toph. She wrinkled her brow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he knows what's good for people. He understands that everything isn't about money. He knows that the four nations should be four separate nations, not one big one. How he turned out like this I'll never understand, because you know what his father's like."

"Yeah… more than you know."

The two didn't say a word for the rest of the time they were standing there. Both were thankful when Aang came running down the hallway. "Hey Zuko! Hey Toph!" he said cheerily. Toph could tell through her special sight that Aang's friend was grinning at him. Well, his version of grinning.

"Here's your little girlfriend. Can I go now?" Zuko said, motioning to Toph. Toph felt Aang's heart rate jump when Zuko made the girlfriend comment. She knew he was blushing.

"Oh… um… yeah, you can go. Thanks for helping out Zuko," Aang said, getting over his blush.

"Whatever. I'll see you around." Zuko hurriedly left the two alone and once he was gone, there was dead silence in the room.

"So… you want to go outside now?" Aang asked her. She bit her lower lip and nodded slowly. She was starting get nervous, something so unlike her. As Aang reached for the knob, he looked back at Toph and noticed she was looking a little nervous. "Are you coming?"

Aang popped the door open and Toph hesitantly walked forward. As she stepped outside, she was hit with a blast to the crisp air of the night. She shivered a bit but pressed on a bit more. She tapped her bare foot on the ground and took in the vibrations around her. She couldn't believe it! All the space and there weren't any walls either! Her face remained emotionless as she took in the grassy open fields and large pond. It was like a dream come true.

Aang just stared at Toph as she took in the scenery. He hoped she liked it. When he arranged this with her, he made sure to choose the best spot around the castle. Sure, there were lots of beautiful gardens around, but he figured she would prefer the open space instead. The gardens consisted of walls, whereas this was just a large grassy field that seemed to extend on forever. Aang smiled brightly as a shy smirk crossed her face.

"Do you like it?" he asked her, knowing the answer. She turned to face him, but instead of getting an off-hand remark like he expected, she hugged him. And it wasn't an awkward hug either. It was a friendly and sincere hug. He wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, completing the hug.

"Thank you so much Twinkle Toes," she whispered in his ear. They stood there for a few extra seconds before Toph pulled away. Then she punched him in the shoulder.

"Bet I could beat you to the top of the hill over there," she said smirking, pointing to a hill on the horizon. He laughed at her.

"No way! I'm an air bender, I can so beat you there," he gloated.

"It is so on!" Toph exclaimed as the two took off in the race. Aang was surprised by her speed. He definetly had underestimated her.

Both sets of feet pounded on the grass below them as they stayed neck and neck. The whole world seemed to be standing still as each pushed themself to get ahead of the other. Then Aang got an idea. He used his air bending skills to give him an extra burst of speed.

"Hey!" Toph called from behind him as he sped away from her. Aang's laughter filled the night sky. Toph smirked and called upon her earth bending skills to give her an extra boost. As she started to catch up to Aang, they were both at the top of the hill. Once they reached the peek, they collapsed.

Toph and Aang lay side by side on the hill, both panting for air. The stars were sparkling above them, painting a perfect picture of them lying together. The tall grasses swayed and bended around them as the wind twirled fallen leaves around like rag dolls. The full moon gave the birds flying around a perfect view of the ground below, and the land animals scurried about, either trying to find a place to sleep for the night or searching for food. Sadly, both teens failed to notice their surroundings. They were too busy reminiscing about the race.

"I so kicked you butt, Twinkle Toes," Toph said, giving off a victory smile.

"What! I beat you here by at least a meter!" Aang shot back.

"Nu-uh!" Toph said back, sounding more like a five year old. As she said this, she shifted so that she was sitting on her knees instead of lying on her back.

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

Toph growled a bit and pounced on Aang, tackling him back to the ground he had just sat up from. Aang falling caused them to start to roll off the hill. The whole way down the hill, each tried to pin the other, but was soon over come by the other. Eventually, they reached the end of the hill that just happened to be the muddy land the surrounded a pond. Having rolled in the mud, both were covered in it, Aang more so when he got pinned by Toph.

"Haha! See, this just proves I won," Toph said smugly. She got off of Aang and lied down in the mud. Aang chuckled and leaned up against his elbows. He started to stare at her again, but she asked him about it.

"What are you looking at Twinkle Toes?"

"You're all dirty," Aang joked, trying to hide his blush. Toph scooped up a handful of mud and flung it at his face. Direct hit.

"So are you," she informed him. He flung another handful back at her and laughed. Soon they were having a mud fight. Their laughter filled the night sky as the the two teens had the time of their lives getting as dirty as possible. This lasted until both were coated in the stuff.

Their laughter slowly died down, but their smiles that shown through their mud covered faces stayed. A calm and serene silence overcame the two, and Toph was the first to break it.

"I can't believe this is what I've been missing for the past fifteen years," she said quietly. Aang's smile changed from glee to sad at the thought of this.

"Hey, don't worry about how it was. We'll make the most of it now," he told her, hoping she would cheer up a little. Her smile changed back to happiness.

"Yeah… we will." Toph placed her hand on the ground and noticed someone running up to them. "Who's that?" she asked, lifting her hand up quickly to point at the person. This caused the mud on her hand to fling off and make a plopping sound as it landed back in the mud puddle.

Aang squinted a bit and noticed it was Ty Lee. He got up off the ground and walked over to her. "Ty Lee, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to get you silly! Your father's looking for you. He said he wants to teach you some new thing about ruling or something. I told him you were outside and that I would get you," she said cheerily. It was then that she noticed Toph, who was now standing next to Aang.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt anything!" Ty Lee said giggling. Toph rolled her eyes at the girl and earth bended the mud off of her and Aang.

"I'm sorry your first time outside has to be cut short Toph. But don't worry, I'll take you outside again," he told her.

"Don't worry about it Twinkle Toes. It was still amazing," she told him. The three of them walked back to the castle and once inside, they all went their separate ways. Toph went back to the slave chambers, Aang to where his father was waiting for him, and Ty Lee went off to so what ever Ty Lee does in her spare time.

* * *

When Toph walked into the chambers, she was surprised to be bombarded with questions from her friends. She growled at them and they all backed away except for Katara and Sokka. The two walked up next to her and followed her to a chair in the eating area. They sat on either side of her and she knew an interrogation was coming. 

"Look guys, I know what you're going to ask. No, Sokka, he didn't try to make me do anything. And no Katara, I'm not suddenly falling for him. He may not be the big jerk I thought he was, but it isn't like that," Toph answered before either of the siblings could get the words out of their mouths.

"Look Toph, I'm just trying to look out for y..." Sokka started, but Toph cut him off.

"For what reason? I can take care of myself just fine. I don't need special help because I'm blind. Besides, I'm sure there is another girl around here who would love the kind of attention you're giving me," Toph hinted at. She had been picking up the vibrations of jealousy from another one of the girls in the room, one of the maids, Suki.

Sokka was obviously not getting the picture, so Toph stuck her thumb in the direction of the girl. He turned and looked at her and his heart rate jumped in his chest. "That's just Suki. We used to be together, but it's over now," Sokka quickly explained. Toph frowned as her vibrations told her he was telling the truth.

"It may be that way for you, but it's not for her," Toph taunted.

"Look Toph, this isn't about my past relationships. It's about how the prince could take advantage of you at any time!"

"Snoozles, stop it! Stop pretending that you have to take care of me! Stop thinking that I can't take care of myself! Do you really think that if he tried to do that, I would let him! Because I wouldn't!" By now, Toph was standing and on her toes so she could yell in Sokka's face.

"To-!" Sokka was cut off by Toph's fist making contact with his jaw.

"Just shut up!" she yelled at him before running out of the chambers. She kept running until she found some small closet and hid in it. She felt low for doing so, but she couldn't think of a better place to go to. She sat there wallowing in her misery for a while, not wanting to result to crying.

Toph stayed in the closet for what had to be hours before she heard the door knob turning. She ignored it, but when the person stepped inside, she was more than shocked at who it was.

* * *

"Ouch!" Sokka yelped as Katara placed her glowing hand on the bruise on Sokka's face. Toph had hit him really hard, so hard that the force from the blow had knocked him off of his chair and he had landed on his back. Sokka never knew about Toph's strength until that. 

"I can't believe she did that! I only want to protect her. That's what guys are supposed to do, protect you women," Sokka told his sister. Katara frowned and pulled her hand away from his face, without it being fully healed.

"You know, you loose more girls that way," Katara criticized.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you really offend girls by telling them that they're useless."

"You aren't useless. You're good for cooking, cleaning, raising kids, and making guys happy," Sokka stated as if it was obvious.

"What?! Sokka, I'm a better fighter than you are! And so are Toph and Suki! You need a reality check!" Katara yelled before storming away.

"Katara!"

* * *

"I didn't know anyone else hid in here." 

"Yeah, well, I don't normally do this. I just needed someplace to calm down."

The two sat there in silence for a while. "So, why aren't you upstairs doing some important upper class stuff?" Toph asked.

"Because I'm still considered too young for it. I don't know why either. My dad says that I'm supposed to be getting a hang of this stuff by now, but it just doesn't interest me."

"I know what you mean. I never wanted to do any of the stuff my parents wanted me to do. Granted they were a lot different than what you're expected to do, like marrying some rich snob, but it's the same concept," Toph said, laughing slightly.

"Actually, my dad would love for me to marry some rich snob girl, but I don't really like any of them. The girl I like isn't anything like that. But, of course, she's not totally approved by my dad."

There was a break in the conversation before the person sitting next to Toph spoke up. "So why are you hiding here?"

"One of the other slaves annoyed me, I hit him, and then I ran here. And don't even think for a minute that I'm hiding from him. I just wanted to be left alone for a while," Toph explained.

"Oh, guess I messed that up."

"Nah, you're not so bad. Besides, I don't hate you yet, so it's alright."

"Yet?"

"Yeah, well, so far my luck with people around here isn't going so good."

"I know what you mean. I've here for almost my whole life and I still feel like an outsider."

"Aren't you friends with…"

"Well, yeah, but sometimes it's a little hard. He doesn't always understand me exactly."

The silence came back and surrounded the two, except that this time, neither could come up with something else to say.

"Well, I should be getting back. Are you staying here?" Toph asked.

"Yeah, I still need some time to myself."

"Whatever. See you later Zuko," Toph said as she exited the closet. Zuko gave a small wave.

* * *

When Toph walked into the chambers again, she was glad when no one bothered her. Figuring that everyone was still freaked out about the fact that she punched Sokka in the face, she walked over to the kitchen area and took an old apple from an old basket. Running her hand around it, she could feel all the bruises and dents on it. She knew why it was down here, it wasn't good enough for the people upstairs. She huffed and took a bite out of it. 

She stood alone for a while until Sokka came up behind her. He didn't say anything for the longest time, which ticked her off.

"Either say what you have to say or leave Sokka," she demanded, not even bothering to turn around. Her calling him by his name made him tense up even more.

"I… I'm sorry Toph. I went a little too far. Now, I'm not apologizing for caring about you, I'm just apologizing for stepping out of line," he said solemnly. Toph thought about this for a minute, and then turned around.

"Sokka, when have I ever given you any reason to believe that I can't take care of myself?" she asked him.

"Never Toph. It's just… my dad always taught me that men take care of women. You are a woman Toph and I'm a man. I just feel like I should be the one protecting you," he claimed, preaching his heart to her.

"That may be true, but just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."

"I'm really sorry Toph, will you please forgive me?"

A long pause filled the air as she considered it.

"I'm still mad at you," she told him. He gave a sad nod. "But…" his heart jumped a mile, "if you don't do it again, I might be able to overlook it eventually."

Sokka perked up immediately. He ran over to her and hugged her tightly. "Let go of me," she demanded and he let her go, blushing madly.

* * *

A few days later, while Aang was reading in his room. The room was very dull by himself and all he could hear was the soft clattering of fallen leaves hitting his window and the grandfather clock slowly ticking. When Aang slowly stood up from the couch, his feet shuffled their way over the stone floor to their destination, his desk.

The desk itself really was a work of art. It was carved from the finest wood around, each piece put together so tightly that the line seperating them could almost not be seen. There were lots of carvings and an occasionally placed colored stone that made the desk light up. Aang was about to take a seat at this amazing desk when a knock came from the door. He swiftly placed his book down and went to open the door. Behind the door stood the king himself.

"Father, is something the matter?" Aang asked King Sako. The only time the king ever came to Aang's room was if something was wrong or lately so he could meet and new suitor.

"No son, of course not son. I just want you to come downstairs and meet someone," he said with a smile on his face.

Aang groaned in response. "Father, can I please take a break from meeting suitors? I'm getting a headache from all of them."

"Oh, now son, it's just one person. Besides, I think you'll enjoy this," King Sako said cheerily. Aang sighed and followed his father downstairs and into one of the smaller rooms in the castle.

But there was not some young girl waiting to meet him. An old lady sat behind a table with a chair across from her. To say the least, Aang was very confused. He was hoping that his father didn't honestly think he was going to court this old woman. She had to be fifty years older than him at least!

"Father?"

King Sako laughed at his son's confusion. "She's a fortune teller Aang. I thought it would be a nice break from meeting suitors."

Aang smiled up at his dad. He hastily walked over to the table and sat down in the chair across from the old lady. He so excited that he hardly heard the door close as his father left them.

"Well then dearie, how about you lend me your hand and I read it for you," the old lady said. Aang eagerly trust out his hand to her. "Well, someone's excited." The old lady laughed as he gave a blush from embarrassment.

"Sorry."

"It's no problem dearie. Now let me just read your palm," she said smiling. She lightly trailed her fingers across Aang's palm and waited patiently. He watched her as her facial expression changed from confusion, to shock, happiness, and finally back to her happy neutral face.

"Well, you certainly have an interesting future ahead of you," she told him.

"What did you see?" Aang asked in awe.

"Many, many things. First off, it seems that as soon as you make a new friend, you two will come into some conflict. And it seems family is a problem here. On a day of darkness for you, everything will take a turn for the worst. But an undecided fight will break out, and unfortunately, that is all I can see," she told him.

Aang was in shock. "Tha… that's horrible! And I was sure I saw some sort of happiness on your face!" Aang squeaked.

"There is happiness! And you'll be happier than you have ever been. It's just… it's interrupted by other people, but it lasts through and through."

"Would it happen to be love?" Aang asked hopefully as he thought of a particular girl.

"I'm not sure. I didn't seen any love signs in your palm, but it very well could be. You just have to go for it," she said smiling. Aang beamed up at her.

"Thank you very much Lady…" Aang paused when he realized he never learned her name.

"Please, just call me Aunt Wu. And it's no problem at all your highness."

Aang stood up and started to leave, but turned around and faced her as he thought of something.

"Umm… excuse me Aunt Wu, I wondering if you could do something for me."

* * *

**A/N: Yes! Finally done! Whoo! **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally got this updated, but I think it'll be well worth the wait. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

If one of the slaves were to look out one of the few windows in their chamber, they would see the glare of pinks and oranges filling the sky and, if they kept looking up, dark blue and dim little specks of white in the sky. The air was cool and all seemed still to those inside. Little to their knowledge, their lives were envied by many on the outside, because shelter and food were a constant to those that were envied. The lot that were now sitting outside, huddled against buildings for warmth because they had been kicked out by owners that didn't want to deal with them, didn't see the night as still or cool; they saw it similar to that of a battlefield, where the cold air acted as the protectors of the city with weapons to their backs and the stillness as the protectors tormenting them, just laughing at them being tortured. But they took their torment, for they knew they would need to save up their strength for the longest battle coming up, when food would be scarcest and heat would be a luxury; winter.

But inside the castle walls, none of the slaves took notice of the problems with the world around them, for either they weren't educated enough to take much notice or they were indifferent about it, because the days chores had just been finished, and they were all resting.

There were many sounds around the chamber, like the clinking of rusty pots and pan, whispers of the slaves that did not want to be overheard because they were speaking ill of the people above them, and the loud snoring of the slaves that needed rest and were sleeping in the corner. But the loudest sounds were coming from the three girls in the center of the room.

Katara, Suki, and Toph were sitting around the old, dusty kitchen table that had once been in possession of the royal family, but once it had been replaced, it went straight down the steps into the basement. The three girls were playing a game similar to 'would you rather' around it. This had started when Suki had come back from he chores, she found both Katara and Toph and suggested they play a game to pass the time until dinner, or also known to them as Gorge Fest because it was the only time of day when they ever got an actually good amount of food.

Toph had been outright surprised that Suki had asked her to join in on this girly game because there was some obvious resentment between both of them because Sokka was paying lots of attention to Toph. Though since Suki was keen on putting it behind her, Toph felt there was no reason for her to not do the same.

So there she was, the rough and tough Toph playing a girly game and actually enjoying herself. It was almost ironic enough to make her laugh.

"So Katara, who do you think is better looking, the head chef or the door man for the grand entrance?" Suki tormented. Toph stifled a laugh at the men suggests to her friend.

Katara squirmed in her chair, really not wanting to answer the question that she was just asked. Both the head chef and the door men were disgusting and ugly people, even by Toph's standards, and that was just below dirt.

"Ew! They're both disgusting! The cook's fat and greasy and the doorman's old and wrinkly. Gross!" She whined.

"You have to pick one of them Sugar Queen," Toph taunted and threw her feet up on top of the table top. Katara didn't say anything for a while, seemingly hoping that something would pop and make the other girls forget the question. To Katara's relief and the other two's disappointment, her wish was granted.

The heavy wooden door of the slave chambers was opened with a loud _Bang!_ as the it was thrown open by one of the guards. With him was an older woman that waltzed into the room as if she had done it a million times before. To Toph, it was a woman of heavy footsteps due to her age but with a spirit younger than her times. To the rest, she was a woman of gray hair, old but bright colored clothes that draped all around her, and bags under the eyes that showed the fire within her.

"Hello dearies! How are you all?" She asked, not expecting an answer. The slaves were all so stunned by her presence that even if the world were to open up beneath their feet and swallow them whole, they wouldn't even be able to muster up a small squeaking noise.

The room was quiet enough to enough to hear a pin drop. Everyone had abandoned what they were previously doing to find out what this lady was going to do. One young boy had even silently walked over towards the sleeping people to wake them so they wouldn't miss out on this rarity. Everybody neither breathed nor blinked as the stranger made her way over to the old, dusty kitchen table that was occupied by the three girls.

She set her large carpet bag on the tabletop with a wide smile plastered on her face. "Hello! My name is Aunt Wu! I was told that no one has visited you all down here in a long time, and that it would be nice if I would do so. Now, who would like to get their fortune told first?"

Despite that fact that her brother had made a scoffing noise when Aunt Wu had mentioned getting your fortune told, Katara's hand shot in the air and she scrambled over to Aunt Wu. Aunt Wu laughed a laugh of happiness at the comical scene.

Katara sat in the chair across from the chair Aunt Wu had settled herself in and was practically vibrating with eagerness. "Alrighty, give me your palm dear so I can read it," Aunt Wu told Katara, and she thrust her hand out. Aunt Wu gently held her hand and traced the lines with her other hand. Every head was craned to see what was going on, and the area around the table started to feel overly crowded as bodies were squished together to give everyone a chance to see.

If it was even possible, the room got even quieter; quiet enough to the point that Toph started to wonder if she was in a room full of specters, for no pulse could be heard, even by her sensitive ears.

Finally, Aunt Wu spoke to Katara as if they were the only two in the room. "You have a very interesting future. It seems that you have lead yourself into the wrong path, but it is nothing dire. You have fooled yourself into something that will never exist, but will always have a way back," she said with a smile.

Katara was so excited about her fortune that she hardly seemed to notice that it didn't make sense to the surrounding viewers. She stood up from her seat and moved back towards her friends. Lots of other people wanted their fortunes told after that. They all crowded around the old woman trying to be next. Even Sokka got his fortune told as a joke, but he stood up grumpily at it. He didn't believe that he could be the cause of his own pain and suffering.

Once the large crowd of people started to thin out, Katara whispered to Toph that she should get her own fortune told. Toph laughed out loud over the sea of noise of people talking about the fortunes that they didn't understand.

"Sugar Queen, I'm not going to get my fortune told. That old lady just makes up a bunch of crap to confuse you and make it seem like a real fortune when in reality, she doesn't know what's going to happen to you."

"Oh come on Toph, it's just for fun!" Toph gave her a look as a response. "Please! This never happen! You'd be missing out."

Toph thought this over for a minute. She didn't see anything wrong with it, so, without saying anything, she stood up and walked over to the old lady. She ignored Katara's squeals in delight.

Toph pushed the person that was just standing up from the seat out of the way. The man stumbled to the floor and was going to retort, but, upon seeing that it was Toph, kept his mouth shut. The man pulled his lower half out of her way quickly so she would not trip over him, which, if were to happen, could lead to him being buried under a mountain of dirt.

Toph remained completely oblivious to the man doing everything in his power to get out of her way. It wasn't that she hadn't noticed him, or that she couldn't sense him, it was just that most of the slaves were afraid of her bold confidence and did their best to avoid her. This never bothered her, so she continued to let them avoid her like ants would an aardvark. On occasion, she wondered if they treated her with more respect than the monarch, but she never put much thought into it.

Toph seated herself in the chair across from the old lady. Holding her hand out to the lady, the lady took it and lightly dragged her fingers over the creases in Toph's hand.

Aunt Wu's forehead crinkled up while looking at Toph's hand. There seemed to be many paths for this girl, some that were clearly stated, others that weren't. Aunt Wu looked up at the girl's face, and noticed it had an impatient look on it. She started speaking.

"Can you hurry this up?"

Aunt Wu took one last look down at the girl's palm before speaking. "It seems that you have many people in your life that are important to you, some more than others. Two of these people have the same goal, but only one will succeed in it, while the other will be forced into acceptance of it."

"What do my friends have to do with me?" Toph asked.

"Their goals involve you dear," Aunt Wu stated kindly. She gave Toph her hand back, and she stood up, leaving Toph confused in her chair.

"Alright dears, I'm sorry, but I have to get going now. Perhaps we will see each other again!" Aunt Wu called out. She picked her bag up and hurriedly walked out the door without saying another word. Katara and Suki came to Toph's side, wanting to know what had driven the fortune teller off.

"I don't know. I didn't say anything. She said something about two of friends and a goal they have, but that's it," Toph told them truthfully.

"Do you think she saw something in your future that scarred her off?" Suki asked her friends.

Katara shrugged in response. "Maybe…"

The girls got up and went back to their original seats to continue their game. "So Sugar Queen, you never answered the question. Cook or door man?"

**

* * *

**

Aunt Wu gave a sigh of relief once she was seated in her coach. All of those people's fortunes had been so strange, but that last girls had been the strangest. It had showed her something she was hoping to never see in a person's palm.

The coach bounced a little as it went through the city. She had urged the driver to get her as quickly as he could to get her away from the castle. The man had chuckled and said that many newcomers left in that manner.

The carriage stopped at an intersection and Aunt Wu looked out the window. There was a big tree outside just in between the street and a building. In the small open area were two young children, one hanging on the branches of the tree and the other huddled up next the building. They weren't speaking to each other, but there was a sense of acquaintance between them. Both children had obvious scratches and bruises on them, whether from abuse or accidents was unknown by Aunt Wu.

But that was the only similarity between the two. The first child, the one hanging from the tree, was smiling and laughing as she moved her hands from one branch to another. She moved unafraid of the ground that was far below her, even though if she were to fall, she would certainly add another bruise to her body. She started rocking back ad forth to build momentum so she could reach a branch that was far away. For a split second, Aunt Wu held her breath as the girl's hands left the support of the branches and she was flying through the sky. Aunt Wu let out a sigh when the girl safely grabbed hold of the branch.

Turning her attention to the child on the ground, she noticed he had thought the same thoughts as herself of the girl. He had his knees scrunched up against himself and his arms were wrapped around them. His face read fear. Fear of what was around him and what was possibly to come. He was terrified that the girl was going to fall and hurt herself. His eyes looked like those of a deer's when caught in the headlights and they looked as if they had been like that for a long time.

With a massive jerk, the coach started up again and Aunt Wu was forced to look away from the scene and onto to the passing people on the ground that saw the scene of children as an innocent one; whereas Aunt Wu saw it as something she had hoped to never see.

* * *

It was around noon-ish when the elegantly decked out carriage pulled up in front of the castle. The chocolate brown wood with the sky blue trimming carriage being pulled by four Thorough breeds only signaled one thing; the matchmaker. The splattered on red paint that stained her carriage wheels was a reminder to all of her ignorance to the rest of the world around her.

When she stepped out of the carriage, there were two guards on either side of the door as always and she placed one delicately gloved on one's shoulder for support while the other gloved hand gently pushed open the door, using the other guard as a door-stopper as to not ruin it. Around her wrist hung her money bag, because that was the most important thing to her, and she could never bear to be separated from it. Her other tons of bags were handed over to the other guards that would take them up to her room. She walked along the stoned pathway to the front door with an aura of power on her. Later noted by a guard that had looked her in the face, the sun never seemed to touch her face completely.

When she walked into the castle, the king and his son came to greet her immediately. She put on a smile that would light up a room if it were to have any emotion in it. She walked directly to his highness, put her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him on each check, if only to just demonstrate her power. The king allowed this only for his son.

"My! It is good to see you again your highness. And is this your son?" she asked, addressing Aang. Looking straight into her face, Aang thought of her not as beautiful, as his father had told him so, but more so as a young face with beauty covered by power.

"Yes, this is my son Prince Aang," the king said, emphasizing on the Prince part.

"Well, he certainly is good looking. I'm sure I'll be able to find him a bride," she said, her emphasis on the I'll. Aang could obviously see the power struggle between them.

The two of them continued to talk about Aang as if he wasn't there, and his mind started to wander. He thought about what he was going to do after all this torture was over. Maybe he would track down his friends and introduce them to Toph. Yeah… that seemed good. Then all of his friends would finally meet. Even though he has a crush on Toph, she was still his friend and would probably get along with his other friends.

"Aang!"

Aang jumped at the mention of his name. His father had been trying to get his attention for the past couple minutes and his anger was starting to rise.

"Come along son. Let's go to the sitting room and discuss things," King Sako suggested.

"Oh good! It was such a terribly long journey for me. I was on the other side of the world doing business for one of the noble families who can't seem to marry off their daughter. And it's no wonder! I would have had my work cut out for me if you hadn't called for me. And of course, I jumped at the chance to help the royal family. Our future king has to be satisfied with his bride," the matchmaker said cheerily. Aang cracked a half smile at her.

One of the slaves was summoned and led them into the sitting room. Aang was surprised to find that the matchmaker's stuff was set up already. He was astounded by the massive amounts of paintings of different girls, him assuming that they were all his eligible candidates.

There were only a few spaces left to sit down in, one being a small couch and the other being a chair in the corner. Aang wished he could have the chair in the corner and not take part in this, but this was for him, so he took the seat next to the matchmaker on the couch, while his father took the seat in the corner.

"Well honey, as you can see, there are plenty of eligible young ladies for you. Just to start narrowing it down, do you have any specific qualities in a girl you would like?" the matchmaker asked him.

Aang started to think about the qualities of Toph that he liked. "Well… I'd like a girl who is always herself," Aang started with. The matchmaker gave him a funny look.

"Hmmm…" She stood up and started walking around the room and looking at each portrait. She tapped her finger to rosy pink lips as she walked; taking her time with each step she took.

Finally, she made a sound of success and motioned for Aang to come and join her by a portrait. Aang got up, and on the way over he couldn't help but take passing glances at the portraits. He noticed that they all looked the same after a while.

He finally reached the matchmaker and stood in front of a painting of a girl that looked just like all the others. She was wearing an elegant dress with all the buttons and bows that it could fit and a rose had been placed behind her ear.

"Now, this girl, she's a very good drawer, has excellent manners, but since she doesn't like playing instruments, she refused to learn. How's that for being herself?" the matchmaker suggested.

Aang scrunched up his forehead, thinking. This girl didn't seem like the kind of girl that was herself. "What do you mean by good manners?" Aang asked.

"I'm glad you asked. She always has a smile on her face, she never speaks ill of anybody, and only speaks when spoken to," the matchmaker said with a smile on her face, truly expecting Aang to be pleased with this.

However, Aang was far from pleased. This girl had made that one decision on her own, and that was considered being yourself. He sighed and couldn't help but think that searching for someone would take a very long time.

And indeed it did. They spent hours trying to find Aang a girl to invite to palace for a week; the latter being suggested by his father after they had finished up looking at the fifth girl. By the time they had narrowed it down to five, Aang was thoroughly annoyed, as was the matchmaker. How hard was it to find a girl exactly like Toph?

Once the five girls had been chosen, the matchmaker ordered for them to be summoned straight away, and then she immediately went to her room in hopes of forgetting to picky prince, if only for the rest of the day.

**

* * *

**

"Wait, wait, so you're telling me you actually broke through that lady's fake happiness? Wow, I didn't know you were that picky Twinkle Toes." Toph broke out into another fit of laughter after Aang nodded his head in agreement.

The two of them were sitting in Aang's room waiting for his other friends to show up. Aang was sitting on the large yellow couch in his room while Toph was rolling on the floor laughing, literally. Aang had offered her a seat on the couch but she had declined it to be closer to her element that just happened to make up the floor.

Earlier, when Toph had shown up in Aang's room, he was surprised to see her in a skirt on her instead of her shorts. Before he could even ask about it, she had held her hand up and told him how Katara had had enough of her being so boyish that she had taken an old skirt and given it to Toph. After saying this, she had smirked and pulled her skirt up enough to show him that she still had her shorts on underneath. Aang had laughed at that.

Now, after Aang told her how the matchmaker couldn't seem to find him a match, and how she was now frustrated with him, it was Toph's turn to laugh at him.

"You couldn't find a match! Haha! I'd never had thought you'd be so picky. I thought you were all 'I only care about what's on the inside'!" Toph laughed.

"That's the problem. On the inside, all the girls are the same. They all know how to draw, dance perfectly, and they only speak when spoken to. It's so boring. I mean, Azula, Ty Lee and Mai aren't like that," Aang explained to her. By now, Toph had stopped laughing and was sitting up right on the floor, leaning back in her elbows.

"Welcome to the outside world Twinkle Toes. That's what they tell every girl to be like, saying those are the only qualities men like in women." Toph stopped talking momentarily to pick at something in her ear. "As to those girls you mentioned, they're of high power. It doesn't matter what they say or do, every man's going to want to marry them."

"You're making it sound like getting married is the only thing girls care about," Aang said, shifting his position on the couch so that he was sitting cross-legged.

"Duh, Twinkle Toes. That's because girls are told from birth that getting married is the only important thing in their life. Then they can make you into anything they want to by just telling you that that's what men like."

"But you're not like that."

"Yeah, and that's what almost got me married to the ugly fat guy." Toph shuddered from the memory.

The two were silent for a little bit. Aang took the silence as time to think over what Toph had just said. Toph merely sat back and enjoyed the silence.

After many minutes, Aang spoke up again. "Do you regret it?"

Toph looked up at him in surprise. "Regret what?"

"Being who you are?"

"No way," Toph answered immediately.

Aang simply smiled.

**

* * *

**

It was a few hours from when Aang and Toph had been alone in his room, and they were still there, only by now Azula, Ty Lee, Mai and Zuko had joined them. All of them had surprisingly taken well to Toph being there. Zuko had already met Toph once or twice, so he knew what to expect from her, but the other three hadn't. When they saw her, they figured she was just like Meng, overly upbeat, talkative, and feeling important because she was sitting in the same room with some of the most important people in the whole world. On contrary, Toph hadn't really cared who they were, she was anything but upbeat, and she wasn't that talkative. She was just glad to have some different company besides the slaves.

Azula had felt very torn upon meeting Toph. She had always felt and thought that slaves were property and could never reach the high standards of her life. Upon meeting Toph though, her thoughts changed slightly. Once hearing about how Toph used to be just as important as they were, she had just been kidnapped from her home when her family's status were taken away, she was more accepting towards Toph. It wasn't that she felt sorry for her, because Azula felt sorry for no one; it was just that Toph was born of noble blood, so she permitted her to be included in their group.

The six didn't stay together for long though. Azula, Mai and Ty Lee soon dragged Toph off to another part of the castle, leaving the two boys confused in Aang's room.

The part of the castle Toph was now being led to was new to her. From what she could tell, this was the oldest and most run down part of the castle. The stones of the walls and floor weren't as tightly packed together as others were.

Toph could tell by Azula and the other's walk that they had a purpose. They were taking her somewhere important, and she kept quiet about it. She was normally not afraid of stones and rocks, but as they walked farther on, she knew less and less about what was going on, and the walls felt as if they were closing around her.

And in reality, they were. In some feudal attempts to keep the ceiling from crashing down, feeble boards and walls were put up all around the hallway, and thus making the already cramped hallway smaller. At one point, the hallway was so small all the girls had to walk in single file, and even then, the walls were brushing up against Toph's shoulders.

When the reached the end of the hallway, they came across a staircase. Toph placed a small hand on the dusty walls and the vibrations of the staircase almost made her blood run cold. _Almost. _

It was a winding staircase that wrapped up around the wall and there was nothing to keep them from falling off the other side. If you slipped and fell, it would be a straight shot back down to where the four were standing at that moment. And it was just far enough apart so that there was no chance of grabbing hold of a stair to save yourself.

This winding death trap had other flaws. Some of a few stairs were broken and missing. A few stairs were even so loose that a mouse's weight on them could make them fall.

Ty Lee moved so that she could stand next to Toph. "This is the North Tower. No one's lived here in over 200 years. It was the first thing that was attacked when the Earth Kingdom and Air Nation had a minor war. They never tore it down because it's considered the first win against another Nation," Ty Lee explained.

"But I thought no one won that war."

"No one did, but they thought they did. And that's all that matters."

They started to climb the staircase carefully, even though all their nerves were all on edge, though no one would ever show it. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the top of the tower. Up there was a small room, large enough to hold a few more people then what was there now.

"Okay, so you all brought me up here to show me some old room? Or did you want to show me the view from here?" Toph asked sarcastically.

Nothing was said as Azula went to the middle of the room and lit something on fire so the others could have light to see. "We had to make sure there was no way of being overheard," Mai said eerily.

There was silence again while the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the fire. Toph sat on one side, while the others sat on adjacent and across form her. Ty Lee spoke first.

"Toph, being so close to Aang, you need to know this too." Toph didn't respond, so she continued. "You need to know what King Sako is after and what Aang has to do with it."

Azula spoke up. "You need to know the origin of the takeover."

Toph's heart skipped a beat. "But everyone knows that. The Air Nomads wanted to spread their peace to everyone so we could all live together peacefully."

"Do you really believe that?" Mai sneered. Toph stayed silent.

"King Sako wants to posses the one thing he cannot have. Ultimate power. And only one person in history has ever had it. The Avatar."

"I thought that was just a myth?"

"No, the Avatar was real, and he or she still is. We just don't know who it is yet."

Azula started talking again. "The Avatar is the only thing standing in his way of a complete takeover. And if he gets rid of the other Nations, then the Avatar won't exist anymore."

"So King Sako wants to destroy the Avatar?"

"Exactly."

There was silence as Toph thought this over. If all the stories about the Avatar were true, if he or she really could control all the elements, he or she could put the world back the way it should be. But what did Aang have to do with all this?

"What about Aang?"

"King Sako wants to put Aang on the throne as soon as possible so that he can teach Aang how he would deal with everything. That way, his legacy would live on through Aang after his death," Azula explained.

"But Aang isn't like that; he wouldn't try and kill someone for power."

"So therefore, we need to make sure Aang doesn't get attached too his father, otherwise it could mean more suffering for everyone."

The girls stayed up there for another hour or so, talking about what was happening and what could happen in the future. On first glance, Toph had never thought that the others cared so much about what was going around them. When they finally departed from the tower and made it down the frightful stairs, Azula pulled Toph aside while the other two made there way forward.

"Look, I know I don't seem like it, but I do care about what goes on around me. I also notice things better than everyone, and one thing I noticed is that you and Aang have a bond, which means you have a greater responsibility in protecting him. With that being said, you need to have this." Azula reached into her pocket and pulled out and necklace with a pendant hanging from it.

She placed it in Toph's hand, and Toph noticed that is was a simple necklace; the string was a simple cord and the pendant was made of silver. The pendant was shaped oddly, she had never felt anything like it before. She gently ran her thumb across it, and she could tell it felt a lot similar to the Air symbol, but it was different. There were some stones in the center of each swirl, making them almost hypnotizing. At the top, there was a star made of harder stone than she's ever felt before.

"What is this?" she asked. Azula didn't answer her question exactly, just motioned for her to put it on.

"All three of us have one and some other people too. Just be sure you never take it off, it might just save your life one day, being a slave and all." With that, Azula turned and left, leaving Toph where she had first felt her blood run cold in fright.

* * *

**Bet you weren't expecting all that. I think this was my best chapter so far. Now I have to write another one... that could take a while. **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey people! I'm back with another chapter! But before we continue on with it though, I realized while I was writing this that I never gave credit to the ones that inadvertently gave me the idea for this story. I got the idea from Yazu Katara and Toph Attack's story ****Elemental Chaos****. It's an amazing story, and you'll notice Toph's daydream in the story is strikingly similar to this story, in a way. I just expanded on it. So yeah, if it hadn't been for them this story wouldn't be here. **

**Now, on with the story! **

* * *

_A small boy around the age of eight sat quietly in the corner of a darkened room in his house. He didn't know where his parents or his sister were or what was going on, but he knew one thing; someone was in the house. But it wasn't just any kind of someone; it was ruthless people, corrupt by their desire to have everything in their grasp. _

_The footsteps below him got louder, and the creaking of the stairs could be heard. The boy whimpered a bit and pulled his knees up to his chest. He wanted to be with his daddy, who would make the bad people leave; or his mommy, who would take him somewhere safe; or his sister, who could always make a dark situation seem happy. But none of them were there. It was only him. _

_The door opened to the room he was in. The people walked in and one of them called to another one downstairs. He knew it was time to act brave. _

"_Where are my mommy and daddy?" he squeaked out. He was picked up by his hair and his hands were handcuffed behind his back. _

"_You won't be seeing them ever again."_

* * *

A crisp, cold air had blown in from the north over the past few weeks. Winter was setting in and the tops of all the buildings in town had a whiter look to them. It wasn't quite cold enough to snow yet, but the wind chill made it seem like it could. Snow could be hidden from, but wind could break through the toughest structures by squeezing through every crack.

The tree Aang was sitting in shook violently from a gust of wind, but he held on tight. He laughed slightly at the small earthbender that was circling the tree down on the ground, arms folded across her chest.

"I know you're up there Twinkle Toes! According to your rules, I won," she yelled up with a smirk across her face.

"Not quite Toph. You have to tag me first," he said in a chipper voice. Over the past few weeks, he developed a new hobby of messing with her.

"I think it counts if I've got you cornered."

"Nope, you're going to have to come up here if you want to win, unless you want to forfeit of course."

Her smirk turned into a frown. "As if Twinkle Toes!"

She blindly reached up for a branch and pulled herself up into the tree. With little difficultly, she reached the branch Aang was on. He hadn't moved from his spot at all, his mind dulled from watching Toph climb up into the tree with a frustrated look on her face, despite how easy it was to do. He had never doubted she could do it, he just never thought she would actually do it.

The branch shook a little and Toph sat down next to Aang and punched him in the shoulder, keeping one arm wrapped around the trunk to secure herself.

"Ha! Now, I officially win," Toph said triumphantly. She had a huge smile on her face, but her foggy eyes showed a bit of fear.

He smiled and rubbed his sore shoulder. They sat in silence for a while before another gust of wind shook the tree. Toph lost her grip and started falling. Aang reached out to catch her and did, but lost his own grip and they both fell to the earth below. Toph screamed until she landed with a thud on top of Aang. He let out a small 'ow' when they landed and he banged his head on the ground. Toph quickly got up off of him and he sat up.

"What's the matter with you? I would have been fine, but you had to go risk your own skin." She suddenly got a new vibration coming off of him. "And you cut yourself too! You're an idiot."

Toph pulled her legs around and ripped off a part of the retched skirt she hated so much, yanked his bleeding arm towards her, and wrapped it around the cut.

The whole time, Aang said nothing. He couldn't think of anything useful to say that would convince her that he hadn't just reached out for her because he thought she would hurt herself. That he had done it because he hadn't wanted her to feel the fear of falling off a tree blind, not knowing how far away the ground was. He could never put that into words.

He finally realized what was going on when the cloth around his arm was tightened and knotted up. He briefly wondered where she had gotten it, not having paid any attention, until he saw the rip in her skirt that now revealed her leg a quarter of the way up her shin.

"I'll get you another one," he said quietly, feeling at lost for words.

"Huh?" Toph asked, looking up at him with blind eyes.

"You ripped your skirt. I'll get you another one to replace it."

"Oh please Twinkle Toes, I don't care about that. Besides, then maybe Sugar Queen will let me go back to wearing shorts again," she told him, smiling at the idea.

He stood up and offered his hand to her. She took it, not because she needed his help, but because she was slightly tired from running around the yard after him in this new game he told her about called tag.

He pulled her up and they just stood there, not talking, for a little bit.

"So… should we stay out here or go back inside?" Aang asked finally, rubbing the back of his neck from the awkwardness.

"How about we stay out here? I really don't want to go back and do more chores," Toph told him, thinking about the new chores he was having her do, such as carrying his food from the kitchen. Aang blushed out of embarrassment and looked down. He hadn't been really fair to her; always finding new things to do and making her follow him around all the time like a lost dog.

Suddenly he was knocked off his feet after being punched in the shoulder. Looking up at the culprit, he shouted, "Hey! What was that for?"

"If I remember correctly, you told me when I met you that you didn't ask for much. Is following you around not much?" she asked standing over him. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a scowl on her face. Aang couldn't tell if it was fake or not.

"W… well, I… I like being with you, and that's the only way it can happen," he said sheepishly.

Toph scoffed at him. "Next thing I know, your going to put a chain around my neck and drag me around with like rag doll."

Aang was temporarily hurt by her words, thinking she actually thought he would do that, until he looked up at her face to see that she was smiling. He started to laugh and airbent himself off the ground as Toph pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

"Hey Twinkle Toes, weren't more suitors coming for you today?"

Aang groaned. Hanging around with Toph for the past hour or so made him temporarily forget that the five girls the matchmaker ordered… er, asked to come were arriving today. He wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"Aw, are you not looking forward to a bunch of girls parading themselves in front of you?" Toph teased. They had started walking slowly walking back to the palace, very much so taking their time. Aang shot her a glare, but upon remembering she couldn't see it, he bumped his shoulder into hers, telling her that her comment wasn't appreciated.

"Twinkle Toes, everything will be okay. It's the first day and late in the evening. All you'll have to do is greet them. Tomorrow's when the hell starts."

Aang chuckled a bit at her swearing. She was the one of the only girls he knew that did that, except Azula, who would do almost anything. He threw an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him, and roughly rubbed the top of her head with his knuckles.

"Hey! Stop it!" she yelled while laughing. He released her slightly, but kept his arm loosely around her shoulders.

"That was for knowing everything. Can't you not know something?"

"Nope. I know everything," she said before sticking her tongue out at him.

* * *

Little to the two's knowledge, they were being watched. But it was alright, because Zuko would never rat out his best friend to his father and most likely cause Toph's death sentence. He had actually become quite accustom to Toph presence. He also knew Aang was head over heals in love with her and would probably kill anyone that caused her harm, despite his caring nature. Zuko chuckled as he saw Toph shove Aang's arm off of her as they reached the door and Aang blush, no doubt from some sarcastic comment Toph had made.

A pair of arms wrapped around Zuko's middle and someone's lips were on his ear. "What's so funny?" He turned around to see his girlfriend, Mai. She had her signature bored look on her face, but he knew better than to only read her face.

"Just at the obviousness of Aang's affections with his slave," he responded, wrapping his arms around her, completing the hug. Since the two weren't for displays of affection, they let go of each other after about a minute and sat down at the nearby desk where all of Zuko's work was. Mai was just there keeping him company.

Zuko hated all the work his father was making him do. Ozai had been telling him it was because he was going to have to do it all eventually, but Zuko knew it was because he didn't want to do it himself.

As much as he tried to, Zuko couldn't concentrate on his work. The pile of papers in front of him was lots of people's complaints on their village. These people expected him to fix every little thing wrong! How on earth was he supposed to get rid of a termite infestation? He put his head in his palm and leaned on it. Everyone outside this castle had such problems, how could they stand it?

"Hey, why don't you take a break?" Mai said, seeing the look on his face. She looped one of her arms through his.

"I can't Mai, I have to work," he said as he sighed. She was quiet for a minute.

"Can we talk while you work?" she asked. Zuko gave her a look. The only time she wanted to talk was when something was wrong.

"What's on your mind?"

"Us."

Zuko froze. He knew what she wanted to talk about, even though he tried not to let it on. He realized now that Mai had removed her arm.

"What about us?"

"Cut the act Zuko. You know what I'm talking about." He couldn't look her in the eye.

"I've told you, my father doesn't quite approve of us, even though you're one of Azula's friends. I hardly doubt he'd go for that."

"Zuko, you're nineteen, you don't need your fathers approval anymore. You only need mine's."

"I know, but…"

"No more buts. I'm getting sick of them. Just confront your father already." With that, Mai walked out of the room.

* * *

Katara stood in the Grand Entrance of the castle waiting for all the hopeful brides of Prince Aang to arrive. Even though she was coming to terms with Aang liking Toph, she still hadn't lost her crush on the Prince and didn't want all these girls parading around for him.

Haru came and stood next to her. Both were there because the guards were busy escorting all the girls and the royal family, so many slaves had been taken from their normal positions to wait on one of the five girls. Katara wouldn't have minded, but the fact that she had to do her regular chores as well made her mad. Too bad she couldn't do anything about it.

"So, how are you doing?" Haru asked her quietly.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Katara asked in her ticked off voice.

"Well, you seem a little cranky." Katara glared at him.

"I'm fine. I just hate getting new orders like this. I hate thinking about how we're slaves to these snobs."

Haru was about to respond when the trumpets sounded, announcing the arrival of the royal family. The two got down on their knees and bowed. Katara snuck a peak up at Aang. He was dressed elegantly in orange and yellow robes. He wore his small crown on his bald head and his blue arrow tattoos stood out against his clothes. He didn't look anyone in the eye as he walked down the hallway next to his father to his throne at the other end of the room. Katara's eyes followed him to the other end of the room, where she was surprised. Next to the King's throne, also on her knees bowing was his slave Lily. However, Aang's side was vacant. Katara's eyes scanned the room, but Toph was no where to be found.

Before the two sat down, King Sako waved his hands for everyone else to rise. Then the father and son sat down in their thrones that contained a good chunk of the world's wealth. King Sako then motioned for them to start calling in the girls.

"I'd like to present Miss Star."

A snooty looking girl came through the doors and walked up the father and son and curtsied.

"Star, why don't you tell my son a little bit about yourself," the King said.

"Well, I'm from a very wealthy and privileged family. Some of my favorite past times are reading and writing and I'll do anything to make Prince Aang happy."

Katara felt like she might throw up from Star's comments. She sounded like a very boring and annoying person.

For the next half hour, four more girls were presented to Aang. All of them repulsed her. Joo Dee was extremely creepy, with that smile constantly on her face. Koko looked like she was barely twelve and was very demanding. Macmu-Ling had to be ten years older than Aang. On Ji was the only one Katara thought she might be able to stand, but she still sounded like a bitch.

Sadly, Katara was assigned to Macmu- Ling. Katara followed her upstairs to her room and listened at she was given instructions.

"I expect my breakfast to be brought to me an hour and a half after the sun rises. My room had better be always clean and clothes always clean. Got that much?" she sneered.

Katara nodded her head obediently.

"Good." The two stopped in front of Macmu- Ling's door. "You can go now. I'll ring for you when my luggage comes up."

Katara nodded again and gladly left.

* * *

"And I need you to tell me everything about the Prince. I have to be the one he picks for his bride. I'm obviously the most qualified," Koko said throwing part of hair over her shoulder. Haru had been assigned to Koko and they were currently in her large room, Koko not letting him leave because, one, she wanted to know every little detail about the prince, and two, because she would have to be quiet for more than the amount of time it takes to breathe to give that command.

Haru had been in her room for less than twenty minutes and she had already given him fifty commands. Like all the other spoiled brats in the kingdom, these commands were basic daily things that she couldn't do herself because she didn't want to be bothered with do such silly little things. Apparently things such as cutting your own food and brushing your hair were considered silly little things. Haru had a feeling that by the time this was over, he would know more about girls than he would ever wish to.

But right now, his job was to tell Koko everything he knew about the Prince.

"Well, His Highness is a very caring guy. He loves animals and knows all kinds of people from what used to be the four nations. He can be very optimistic at times and makes friends easily, but sometimes he just likes to be by himself. And he'll do anything for the people he cares about," Haru said truthfully. _Oh yeah, let's not forget he's in love with his slave; but don't worry, that won't affect his decision at all (… yeah right)._

"Ew, I hate animals. That I won't allow. Oh well, he can love me instead," Koko said, handing him her hair brush.

"Now make sure my hair looks good, I can't get one hair get out of place, if he sees me like that, I'll just die of embarrassment."

* * *

"Are you kidding me?!" asked Suki, giant grin plastered on her face.

It was late at night, and some of the slaves were gathered in their quarters, talking about how strange the new people were. Right now all the slaves were roaring with laughter at Haru's story about Koko.

"Oh Haru, you need brush each little clump of hair to make sure they look perfect, otherwise I'm going to cry," Toph said teasingly, twirling the end of her ponytail around and speaking in a high pitched voice. Everyone started laughing.

"It's almost as if you were there Toph," Haru said, still laughing. He was about to add more to that, when Jet entered the room.

"Hey guys, the guards are starting to be able to hear you upstairs, you might want to keep it quiet," he told them.

Everyone quieted down and continued to talk, but Toph was unable to make any more cracks about them because Jet pulled her away from the circle.

"Hey, what gives?" she asked in her ticked off voice, yanking her arm out of his grip.

"I was just wondering how you were doing," he asked, seemingly sweet.

She gave him a suspicious look and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Jet shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Well, I figured that with all these new girls prancing around the prince for the week, you wouldn't be so happy."

"And why wouldn't I be?"

An almost evil smirk came across Jet's lips. "Well… it's pretty obvious you like him and therefore you would obviously be jealous of all the attention he's going to be getting." Jet's smirk grew as a small blush formed across Toph's face. Her arms dropped from her chest and she placed them on her hips.

"What are you talking about? I don't like him, he's just my friend."

"Well, maybe you don't realize it yet, but you do."

Toph, thoroughly ticked off now, grabbed at the front of his shirt and pulled his face down towards her.

"Look Jet, I don't like him like that. He's just my friend. Get that through your thick and perverted skull!" she shouted at him before shoving him down.

He landed with a loud bang, but instead of being afraid of her, like she had wanted, his eyes gleamed with mischief. "Don't worry babe, if he goes after one of those other girls, you can always come to me."

Toph kicked him in the sides just before Sokka comes up behind her. "Jet, is it possible for you to stop being a jerk all the time?"

"More like pain in the ass," Toph spats.

"How am I being a pain in the ass? All I did was state the facts."

"No you weren't, you were lying through your teeth."

"Whatever, just remember what I said babe," Jet said before getting up and walking away.

Toph was distracted for the rest of the night. She couldn't even come up with anymore witty banter to make fun of the other girls here. And they were just an imitation waiting to happen. Instead, she spent the rest of the night keeping to herself, only slightly laughing at the stories. She didn't know why, but Jet's words kept running through her head. They were even keeping her from falling asleep. She was just lying on the ground on her back, blind eyes staring at the ceiling.

The night was quiet and everyone else was asleep. If she concentrated, she could hear the heavy breathing of everyone else in the room. It was a calming noise, like the night had been the first time she and Aang went outside…. AHHH!!

She rolled over onto her stomach and grumbled. Stupid Jet! Why couldn't he just leave her alone? And where did he come up with this stuff? Does he just sit up at night and try to think of ways to annoy her?

She banged her head into the floor, creating a large dent. This is stupid! Why was she still awake? Why was thinking like this? It wasn't helping her get to sleep any faster. She had to get up in a few hours to help Aang get ready for his day full of obnoxious suitors. A day full of never shutting up suitors that care more about your status or money than you do and will do anything to get on your good side. Just thinking of those kind of girls made her cringe.

"Floozies," she mumbles to herself.

…

…

…

Toph's eyes widened as her brain slammed into a stone wall. That sounded suspiciously like jealousy. What was she thinking?! There was no way she was jealous. To be jealous, that would have to mean that she liked him. And she so didn't.

…

…

…

…

Right?

* * *

**Alright, I know this is shorter than my others and definetly not as good, but I figured since I've been holding you out on this chapter that has been nearly finished for almost a month, that I should just finish it up and post it. I think the next chapter will have more detail, because now it's really starting to take off. Yay! **

**Thanks for reading and please review! I can only get better if you tell me what's wrong. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay... so... yeah... it took a really long time for me to write this and I have no excuse for my tardiness. All I can say is, I hope you like it!**

* * *

_It was coming. It couldn't be described any other way. The tides were changing, and you had two choices, bend like a twig to the winds or burn like paper in a raging wildfire…_

It was the next morning, and Aang wanted to be anywhere else in the world than where he was at that moment. He could have been in icy tundra, or a desert with no water, and be happier with his situation there than what he was about to go through. Today was the day he was going to meet his suitors. He groaned and pulled the covers over his head, hoping that he blankets would have enough power to shield him from the world, or at least today. The sun was shining through covers, reminding him to get up. He momentarily wondered who had opened them, had it been his father or Toph.

Aang heard some rustling across his room. Now that it was evident that someone was there and was most likely waiting for him to get up, he peeked out from under the covers to see who it was. The bright sunlight hit him directly in the face. He blinked a few times and squinted. While his eyes adjusted, he could make out a blurry figureHe squinted a bit more to make out the person.

After a few moments, he was able to see that the person was very large and wore a crown on his head. _Father…_

"Good morning son! Are you ready for your day?" his father asked him cheerily.

Aang yawned and sat up, rubbing what was left of sleep from his eyes. He didn't respond right away, and took a moment to look out the window and see that the sun was still rising. He was surprised.

"Father, what time is it?" Aang asked while suppressing a yawn.

"A little earlier than when you normally wake up, but not too bad."

"Why did you wake me up so early?"

There was a pause and Aang took this moment to get up and start pulling on his white shirt and his brown pants. This was of course done behind the changing curtain, because that would just be awkward to do in front of your father.

"Because son, I wanted to talk to you about this whole courting system, because I known you don't know much about it," his father replied.

Aang kept silent as he started putting on an orange and yellow jacket. He noticed it was very similar to the one his dad sometimes wore, and figured his dad picked his clothes out for him. The jacket was very elaborate and was complicated to put on, for it had buttons and tassels in weird places. He finally figured out that only a small fraction of the buttons was actually used. As he buttoned up the jacket, his father started talking again.

"You see son, you have to keep in mind that even though today you will only be meeting two of the girls today, there are three tomorrow. So don't write off all the other girls just yet," his father explained.

Aang noticed that the new jacket he was wearing had those squared off shoulders that were supposed to "give off and air of importance," or something like that. He always hated them. It reminded him of the time when he was younger and he snuck into the supply closet for the guards. He had tried on some of the armor that could have fit three of him and a helmet, for his legs were too short to wear the leggings. He had run to his mother to tell that he wanted to be a guard when he grew up. She just laughed at him and told him to keep that armor on for an hour and tell her then if he still wanted to be a guard. He did, and his shoulders were so sore afterwards, he went back to his mother and told her he changed his mind, that the armor was too heavy.

"And don't forget to act aloof and listen to each girl talk. That way you can learn more about them and you don't have to tell them anything. Women love to talk about themselves."

The brown boots Aang was trying to put on were giving him a hard time. Even though they were considerably flexible, they kept getting stuck. The prince had to give a big effort to get onto his feet. When he finally did get them on, he tucked his pant legs into the top of them. They didn't go in all the way, and they poofed out a little bit at the top because of it, but he didn't care. If these women had a problem with how he dressed, then he had an even better reason to turn them down to his father. Something along the line of '_All she cared about was how I dressed,' _would work just fine.

"Now, for your schedule. This morning, you will be having breakfast with all the women in the Great Hall. I will not be there because I think it's time you learn how to direct conversation on your own. My father did the same thing with me, but all you have to do is get the women to talk, which like I said before, will be easy. Then you will be enjoying the morning with Lady Star. You can do whatever you want. We can arrange for a carriage to take the two of you around town. If you do, I recommend that you do not take any slaves with you. It is my experience that they get in the way. If you don't like that, you could take a long walk around the grounds. Or anything else you can think of. You can come back to the castle around eleven thirty. If you would like, you may eat lunch with all the women, but you are not required to. Afterwards, around one, you are going to go out with Koko. Again, you can do whatever you like with her. "

Aang stepped out from behind the curtain. He grabbed his maroon cloak and tied it around his neck. He hated the way it stuck out more because of the broad shoulders on the jacket. He picked up his crown from its blood red cushion and placed it on his baldhead. His father walked up to him and put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"You look just like your mother son. She would be proud of you," father told son honestly. For a split second, Aang wondered if she would have been proud of his for this courting ceremony, or would she have told him to follow his heart and chase after the one he liked. He only had a moment to think about it before there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," his father called out to the person on the other side. The door opened and in came Toph. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that her hair as down. He also noticed that it was messier than he was used to. _She must have just woken up. _

He tensed though when he realized that Toph and his father were in the same room. That was something he was always trying to avoid, he even went to a great deal of trouble to give Toph something to do during the introduction ceremony. The plus sides to that were that they avoided each other and his room was now totally clean. The down side, Toph had been severely ticked off at him.

The next couple of seconds seemed to last an incredibly long time to Aang. His eyes rapidly shifted between his father and Toph. He didn't know what he would do if his father went after Toph.

Toph, having seemed to feel his nervousness, actually acted like a slave for that brief moment in time.

"Oh, I'm sorry Your Highness, I didn't mean to interrupt you," she said as she gave a small bow of her head.

King Sako hardly reacted to this. He just stuck his head up higher into the air. "Well, seeing as how we are done here, it's alright. I will see you at breakfast in half an hour son," the king said. He left almost right after.

There was silence in the room after the king left. Toph walked the rest of the way into the room and started making his bed. Aang just stood there, not really knowing what to do. After the silence seemed to be unbearable for a moment longer, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You look pretty with your hair down." Once he realized what he said he blushed a deep red and looked away from her blind gaze, even though she couldn't actually look at him. What he didn't know was that she wasn't gazing at him at all. She, having frozen in place at his comment, too had turned a deep red shade and looked away, embarrassed, but… in a good way.

"Oh… thanks," she replied quietly.

Aang seemed to think that she didn't believe him, so felt the need to continue. "Really, I mean it, you should wear it like that more often."

"Don't count on it Twinkle Toes. It's only down because I woke up late and didn't have time to put it up," she told him, however, it wasn't in her normal tone. It was less harsh, shier.

Aang airbended himself across the room to her and put his hand against her forehead. "Are you sick again? Do you need to lie down?"

Toph pushed his hand away from her head. "Twinkles, I'm fine. I'm not sick and I don't need to lie down. I'm just… I'm fine."

She was about to tell him, but she changed her mind at the last minute, he just knew it. He looked at her strangely, but took a step away from her. She finished making his bed while he just stood there, the silence being almost too much for him to bear. He had no idea what to say to her, even though it was usually so easy to talk to her.

She turned toward him and just stood there for a while. They just stood there, looking at each other. Aang could see on her face that she was thinking about something, but at the same time, she seemed to be just as at a loss for words as he was. He had the urge to reach forward and grab her face to kiss it. He resisted, but just narrowly.

Toph was the one that snapped out of the trance first. She turned her head so that her ear was the slightest bit closer to the door. She was listening for something.

"You should go, your father will be expecting you in a matter of minutes. The clock just struck seven," she told him evenly. She then punched him in the shoulder. "Good luck Twinkle Toes." She started to leave the room, but Aang grabbed her hand.

"Wait… meet me here for lunch," he told her.

"Don't you have to eat with your floozies?" she questioned.

"Not for lunch And besides, wouldn't you like to eat some actually good food, instead of the crap I know you eat everyday," Aang stated.

"Do you honestly think that you can bribe me with food Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked in a teasing tone.

"You can order anything you want," Aang suggested. He inadvertently squeezed her hand a little while he said this. Even though he didn't realize he did it, Toph did. She slyly slipped her hand out of his with him hardly noticing.

"Fine Twinkles, I'll eat lunch with you."

* * *

"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Toph yelled to herself as she banged her head against the table. "I'm such an idiot…"

"What's the matter Toph?" a voice asked her. Toph set her foot on the ground and noticed it was Suki's vibrations. Toph did not move her head from her arms that were resting on the table.

"Hey Suki."

"What's the matter?" Suki asked as she pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down next to her.

"I'm an idiot." She could almost hear Suki roll her eyes.

"I got that part. Why are you an idiot?"

"Because I'm so confused. I don't know what's going on. Do I like him or not? Does he like me or not? Could t-"

"Wait, who are you even talking about?" Suki cut in. Toph could sense her heart rate going a mile a minute in nervousness.

"Don't worry, I'm not talking about Snoozles. I'm talking about…" Toph didn't finish her sentence, but Suki filled in the blanks.

"Oh my god, you mean the prince?!"

"Shhh! Don't talk so loud!" Toph snapped at her. Suki immediately dropped her voice.

"You like him?!" Toph groaned.

"I don't know! I mean, I kind of do, but he's got all those girls hanging around him, and sometimes he drives me nuts! And I'm so stupid!" Toph banged her head against the table again. Suki put a hand on Toph's shoulder to stop her.

"How about you stop calling yourself stupid and tell me why that's a problem."

"Because Suki, what if he sees me as just a friend, or just as his slave? That would be awful and really awkward. But he's so funny, and nice, and sweet." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Toph realized that she was spilling her guts out and bitching and moaning about a guy! No! Toph Bei Fong did not have boy problems. She was not some girly girl.

"Oh wow, I'm acting like such a wuss. I don't need any help because I don't have any problems! It's just temporary insanity." She started to get up when Suki pushed her back into her chair.

"How about I offer you some advice for your "non-existent" problems?"

Toph stayed still and listened because she was vaguely interested in what Suki had to say.

"Look Toph, falling in love-"

"Whoa there! I never said anything about love!" Toph exclaimed.

"Just listen to what I have to say! Now, falling in love with someone is hard. It's scary and frustrating, and at some points you just want to run. But you have no control over it. I can't really explain it, because it's different for everyone, but you can't fight it, you just have to run with it."

With that, Suki left, and Toph stayed right were she was, thinking, for a long, long time.

* * *

After the worst breakfast of his life, Aang decided that it would be best if he took Star on a carriage ride to 'see the town around the castle.' Star had told him that 'was a romantic idea and just had to go and get ready for it.' Aang had no idea how one gets ready for a carriage ride, but since the 'date' was supposed to last between eight and eleven thirty, and it was now eight thirty, he really didn't mind all that much.

As he waited for Star, he sat down on one of the couches in the front hall and thought back to breakfast and how he never wanted to go through that again.

_When Aang arrived in the Great Hall, all the girls were waiting for him to arrive. They hadn't sat down yet though, because they were going to race towards the two seats next to him. He pretended not to notice though, and just sat down in his normal seat while all the girls crowed around the two seats on either side of him. Since he really didn't know anyone's name yet, he couldn't really identify which ones did actually sit next to him. All he knew was that all of them crept him out. _

_As the six of them sat and waited for the food to be brought out, there was an awkward silence in the room. Aang knew he was supposed to start out the conversation, so he asked them the first thing that came to mind. _

"_So, do each of you ladies like your rooms?" he asked to the whole group. _

_The women were very eager to talk to him to impress him with their answers, so they all started talking at once. His eyes widened a bit in surprise. He had to figure out a way for them to get their talking through without getting a headache. _

_He rose up his hand to (hopefully!) silence them. Thankfully they quieted down. _

"_Umm, how about you go around the table and speak _individually_ so that you're not all talking at once," he suggested, heavily emphasizing the individually part. He pointed the girl on his right. "Why don't you start?" _

_The girl giggled excitedly, then started talking. "I love my room! It ahs such a good view of the grounds behind the castle." Aang's heart seemed to stop for a minute. Had she seen him and Toph? "I have a great view of the new garden that's being built for your future wife." The girl batted her eyelashes at him, and he was almost positive that she had her foot next to his. _

_He pulled his foot closer to him, making sure the girl couldn't reach it anymore. He was however great full that her window was facing the opposite direction from where the two of them hung out. "Oh… umm… that's great," he replied, not really sure what to say. _

"_So kind of wife are you looking for!?" one girl asked from across the table. _

"_Koko!" the girl next to her scolded. _

"_What? I'm curious!" the other girl, Koko, defended. _

_Aang felt his face turn red and he rubbed the back of his neck. This was awkward. "Well… umm… you see… you know maybe this should be discussed at another time," Aang suggested, hoping they let him off the hook. _

"_Oh come on, just tell us one thing you're looking for in a girl," of the women suggested. "Umm… okay. I-I like a girl that's always herself. Someone that doesn't change for anything." He knew it was probably a bad idea to them all this, but what was he supposed to do? _

_He definitely knew it was a mistake when he noticed all the girls immediately started fixing their hair and dresses. Did they not listen to anything he just said?_

_Before anyone could say anything else, the slaves brought out the food. _

_The breakfast wasn't like a normal breakfast, where each person was brought their own plate, large dishes of food were brought out and placed in the middle of the table and empty plates were placed in front of each person. The guests could take whatever they liked without being obligated to eat what was in front of them._

_Aang immediately spooned out some miso soup, got a bowl of steamed rice, grabbed some natto, nori, and pickles, and started eating. As he was eating, he couldn't help but notice that each of the women only took small portions of rice and one pickle each. Aang had to wonder how they could survive on such little food. _

"_Wouldn't you ladies like some more food? There's plenty to go around," Aang suggested not wanting them to go hungry. _

"_Oh don't worry Your Highness, we will be perfectly fine," answered an older looking woman. She looked like she was at least ten years older than him. When she smiled at Aang, it sent chills down his spine. It disturbed him, to say the least. _

Aang snapped himself out of thoughts after that. Most of what happened afterwards was just silence, which he was grateful for.

As Aang continued to wait for Star, he wondered how those girls could eat next to nothing and not go hungry all day. Didn't they get hungry? Was this what Toph had told him about, how girls were forced to do certain things because men supposedly liked it. He shrugged it off, knowing he wasn't actually going to choose any of these girls, so what did he care what they did?

But he knew he did, if only because he knew no one should live like that. Knowing it would still be a while until Star was ready, he got up and did the right thing. He went to the kitchen to make them extra food to bring with.

* * *

The carriage bumped and rattled on the dirt road as the pair were driven through the town. The horses went at a slow pace through the wasteland, giving the two time to look around. The great buildings that took up lots of space were empty and decayed, with a gray and stale air around them. Smoke seemed to cover the area in a thick cloud with its ashes caking the ground. No leaves were on the trees, if there had been any to begin with, for they were so bare and blackened, the trees could have very well suffocated from the bad air years ago. No wind blew through the area, so the rancid smell of misery and dying hopes was potent to the by passers.

Through the smoke, faint voices could be heard, with a buzz of excitement and mostly fear. The carriage that was now passing through their town was a reminder of the position they were currently in, and who was to blame for it. Only the towns people's eyes and outline could be seen through the smoke to those inside the carriage, turning them into ghosts, that could be seen but never heard. As the carriage made the loudest sound that had been heard by theses people in months, guards surrounding the carriage yelled at the people to back up and give their prince space so he and the woman he was courting could enjoy their date without low life like them intruding. The guards roared that if there were any intrusions, punishment would follow soon after. The whole world seemed to slow to a stop.

Star had closed her blind on her window so that she didn't have to see the wretchedness of the real world. Aang, however, couldn't seem to take his eyes off of it. Over the heads of the guards that were trying to keep him from view of the people, he could see the eyes of the people, staring up at him, waiting for him to do some sort of miracle, or destroy them.

Soon, a small clearing a rose in the distance, and solely on the fact that the clearing was heavily guarded, he knew that's were Star and himself would be eating their brunch.

The carriage came to a subtly stop and he heard a knock on the door. The door opened and gave view to a grassy clearing that had been cleaned up a lot. Aang could see the large dirt patches in the ground were large dead trees had been removed from the area to make it look better. It also gave the guards the ability to look around for any intruders.

There was next to no conversation while the two ate, mainly because Aang was so shocked by what the surroundings were like, and Star was silent because she was raised to not speak unless spoken to.

As the guards packed up the remnants of their food, which was a good amount because Star once again refused to eat too much, Aang took the time to get a good look around at the wasteland. Star came to stand next to him as he spoke his thoughts.

"It's sad, isn't it?"

"Yes, it really is. Those pathetic people need to learn to do something better with their lives," Star said in a mourning voice.

Aang looked at her with a shocked expression after she said this. What?

"What are you talking about?" he asked her, seriously wanting to know what was going through her head.

"With no disrespect your highness, but these people are worthless. All they do is sit around in their own filth. How can they stand that? They should just get up and move somewhere else," Star stated simply, her nose high in the air.

"What if this is the best they have?" Aang shot back at her, now thoroughly annoyed that she was talking so badly of these people.

"Then they deserve it. If this is the best they can do then they don't deserve anything. Your father was right to take it from them." Star must have been thinking she was winning him over by talking highly of what Aang's father has done.

On the contrary, however, Aang's opinion of Star was declining rapidly.

He started walking over to the carriage, with Star at his heels. But before he reached the carriage, Star let out a scream and Aang felt a tug on his cloak. Thinking it was Star trying to get him to protect her from whatever, he roughly pulled at his cloak and turned around. Only it wasn't Star, it was a little boy pulling on it. Aang noticed the hole in the ground next to the child and knew immediately that the kid was an earth bender.

Star's screams had alerted the guards, which came running to them, getting ready to punish the kid for his interruption. Not wanting the kid to bear any kind of punishment though, Aang held up his hand, signaling for the guards to stop. The guard that was closest to him question his judgment.

"Your highness, this filthy child has just interrupted your date with Lady Star, he needs to be punished."

"No. I want to hear what he has to say," Aang told him firmly in a voice he hardy ever used. The guard was surprised, but didn't argue any further, not wanting to tick off the prince.

Aang knelt down to eye level with the boy. His face showed that he was at least eight, but you would never know it by his height. The poor kid's height had be stunted by a lack of nutrients, so he looked like he was six. His eyes were sunken and dead with no fire in them and his hair looked like a dead bush. Its color was a dirty brown, similar to Ty Lee's, but this child's was matted and some parts had obviously fallen out, even though the knots were keeping it close to his head. His skin had lost most of its darker pigment and it hung on him like a rag. His ribs could be seen through his thin shirt and his stomach seemed to touch his back. In whole, all that made him was bones and skin.

"Please Sa', coul' ya spa' some food? We' starven he'e, an' we was wonden if you woul' help us," the little boy pleaded with Aang, his heavy eyes enforcing his plea even more.

Aang gave a sad smile to the boy, stood up, and took the left over food from one of the guards that was holding it and handed it to the boy, complete with the blanket he and Star had been sitting on too. He handed these to the boy. The boy's eyes widened in surprise when he saw all the food, and Aang had a sickening feeling that this was equivalent to almost the total amount he's seen in his whole life.

Aang smiled at the boy and rubbed the top of the his head.

"Just be sure to share," Aang told him. The boy beamed up at him.

"Of cous' Sa'," the little boy said before he ran back to his family across the street.

Aang got up soon after and joined Star in the carriage, for she had jumped in there soon after she screamed. Their destination: the castle.

Once Aang was seated inside, the carriage started moving. He heard Star shift in the seat next to him and he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"That was a really sweet thing you did Aang," she told him, while staring at him. Aang was shocked and looked back at her. Maybe she really did care. Maybe she actually had a heart. Maybe the two of them could actually be friends.

"I mean, it's so depressing that there's someone out there that's skinnier than me! I would love to be that skinny, but I can never seem to manage to get that skinny! But now that you have given that kid food, he will not be skinnier than me! Thank you Aang!" Star squealed happily, hugging him. After looking at her ecstatic face, Aang felt like he might hurl. Forget them being friends, Aang didn't know if he would even be able to look at her again.

* * *

"It was awful Toph, I've never seen anything so horrible in my life. Everything was dead, the people looked like all hope was lost, and everything around them said it was."

Toph and Aang were sitting on the couch in his room, supposedly eating lunch, however, the food had been left untouched. Aang's legs were pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. He was still in shock from what he had seen outside. Toph could not believe what she was hearing. All of a sudden, being with Aang inside of the castle was an extreme luxury.

"And Star! I cannot believe her! How could she think that starving to death is a good thing? That's awful!"

Toph scooted over to Aang and hesitantly reached out to him. She had never been much of a comforter, but he really needed her. She wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders.

"Aang, everything will be okay, I know it. When you become King, you'll do good things for everyone," she told him.

"But my father obviously doesn't think that. He thinks I'll continue his work," he told her sadly, leaning into her.

"So then don't," she told him simply. He smiled at her and hugged her.

"Thanks Toph."

Toph could feel the heart rising to her cheek and she could hear Aang's heart beating rapidly, so she decided to break this up before things got awkward.

"So are we done with the sad talk, because I'm hungry," she asked sarcastically. Aang laughed at her.

"Yeah, dig in!"

As Aang watched Toph start devouring the food after their hug broke up, he couldn't help but smile at her as she ate like a normal person, not trying to be the skinniest person in the world. He also got the feeling that from now on, things would be different, that something new was starting. That his old life was coming to its end. That twilight was finally coming.

* * *

**Yay! I definitely think this was one of my better chapters! I hope you all liked it!**

**Please review, it's the only way this story can get better!**

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